OftQn the best man-iiever the groom
E V't^RY >or He wjtihcd arii>«hcr <»f hi»
cliiirtt I’fK-nJi |:vt mairitJ. Ele cn\nJ
them. It htfftr niedmne m tt jli/e thjt
he wjt ttiU a ha«lteli>r: r»>>fe than all cl'^
Ke »anltJ to “wttle Anrn." !l.if oe>e hv
one the |:irlt «h<t had attta«lrd h:m. i|ukLI\
dropped him tn many men with far Irit l»
od^cr. Arr*t4J nctir l.nr» »h» IWr't th.
intidiout ihiri; aE««it halitimt thaJ hriath’
Voo \«>urie!f nt\tr l»vm »hen \iu ha»c
it a/tJ the suhrrvt vi dcfualr that <\tn
yuur heat friend vinn’t tcJl tier.
<V* l.amtkini Matlrr
ibo
l.if «« »r«M
A* ikri^r. ffc*f €**•
fjJI (• t Atr *f . I W ftiXr'
Mm «f i«rW w«i^Ci«4WL . >
A ,\otaHf nodtraut
Xkrrr • K. ■ > %ft« J
1 % r«rtT<i fii *-*^1 !•* it^r
.« |.oirr<«tf« it rt *C
«««W y «• o«
Mast ii kj«r »g*k. r f
PM< ^ «kjt 1 rt*<nM 4 «•. Ki *
ffw«t »r«^#ri >• #**wj**rf. mt U-
« «wW^ tim « •« ri * k.«rvk« i«*ta r «••
!• f -JL f *•• J
4 >t * W !<*>«« «• «v« ika* »> -- \ t
4 I ««*« fl^ % Jt >«1» n 4 ^ ^ ^ t
k *r«. ^^4 MB
a * * « it k* • j*Bp • 4 t* • M *f *4 *«!•••.* 4t «*i ■
^T**£ \ •• f»^ 1 rvwk •••*.
h«i, »«•>«• !b B»«
/ •«r iUnrfitt
n te». •*•! (artML*
• M<«« »4 k<a «* W »« »xi
* ** **«Yf tr-««4 l»4.* *!• »\ ■
k.
.Xa »'•
4a«<r-«* 4 Be«*r w* * ^
> i I W } ft a* K I* V 'i »f Si » 4, • ^ « »'»fa ■»«•• k » .
f)on ’r i)fmd OlkfTt
«*»** W« k it* t.k« 4«*»#<-4 vM*X t^a«l
«aiW«it 4«*^'«f. 1 r»*truhr
I *a •• €lat% FV«»a *4 J'.j t * rf T
K 4 ir« 4<s| % «i«I
«*f f » »‘-4t % «4 i 4 ffc «
I ««•) *T ti i *B. >.' /'•I-. V ] ~'*J
f»r H xiJTtAfC tur Ij^TI HIST
1
ANNOUNCEMENT
of New G>FfiK Agency Openings
Oip Out dn4 Mail
:5ofthe road/
IN TIMES TO COM^
|py
5 ^
^ ^■Matter.-
ft ^^Mftdcjy
Far ■ aii
Mi
ircrerr Craw Mood
C3J53
33
Kcacsn
80MKTHIN0 FROM JlfPI T M * \ •
the «vU
I Bkai
Tbea, with Karody a Mgad. the fTOt
gbfae brahe into halm Bk a (
its hf itp ht res sdl h
their faces tnraed ofward.
This escnl, honercr, o ff creJ iole in
the yfxy of tCTclatio& Thei^ was a
hollow space ac the center of each op-
.posinf hem i s p he re; and thra nh the
thick metal al aroond asicfat hide in-
tricate mertian i ra l con y l c cities . i
of it ooBd be seen.
Gref half espwyJ to
in cade, hot none came,
were needed. For the
sofiplied aB the
necessary. Nov that Gtec *** **
ckiae to this aJirn fabrication, the com*
it cmittrd were fir too
for any human srii to reaisc.
Wsh a kaal of dal r es ysatmn. k
watch e d his feet step within the
of one ef the hemi s pheres. LAc ok
carried alon( impaasrrciy by aome one
-o. - ». - SO- * n* ■ -
CBC» OB KX OB VOQ/ OOODK mJKM
into an cr nbryoni c posstien ia the cariqr-
Then the other hemisphere folded oner
apon hhi Hk a Gd. fiAwto dmlcaem
ense f oped Grecoty Cross. The somBs
0( UC raiQ( WOfBl WCfC PWOBg OH 09
if t nrtied off by a s n i t ch . For many
the
artiicial aids.' Yet it has
pCOpiCI vtOXOCT VBK
they're Ox? Wander what they srant
sriifa me? The word ‘help* sms in many
of their measaecs. Bat nrbat sort it
hefp do they need? And how csold a
T cr t rstria n aid thenu anyway?"
Greg thoqght sf thej compnltien that
had g ri pped him. It s4* C^oe now. hot
a phekfity, a fininn that
worry r rmainrH He csold
Emhs ftedy srithin the Gsaits imposed by
the metal waBs arornd him. Bat then,
ef csorae, here- ios^ this t^
speB oser hss nerres and
He eras e ff ec ti se aad
pletely a capthc arkbont the <
A captnc? There sms no rea so n to
snppooe that any bond of real i
asigbe cser exist b etwee n Bn <
o ^ - — -« -
MO-ionBi 01 |wo QOBfi^ luuBOH vonok
He sms beioc transported to pohm.al-
hefl. He'd Kser see
Earth agamt Aid for his osm people
Bah! bMheen'
to hope!
^fekcold. His body tiogled with a
iwsand electrical priddes. HisscMcs
Was the conn he sras
or teal
death? His thoogh ta sre
in gl owing twffligh t
BUT THBK there sms a sense of
— » an — ^ n a _ _
WUmU lUWUlKBK^OBOOCB
the thin. imdBed scr eam of Ipeed-SM’-
tared air.
"Going to Japster," Greg thought
sragody. “Tm goiog to Jnpiter!"
And hss nirnta! processes rsrshed on,
elaborating aid straighcening'owt his
s catt e red ideas: "This globe most be
giislid and operated by rem ot e control."
be n artered "It has to be, beennse
es idcnt ly. Fm the only li s i p g thing in-
side it Jnphrr. bnge and cold-
No man coold hse there lor a second
n.
GREGORY CROSS* fim sensmioiC
on awabeinng. sms ok of crwafaaag
sscigbt. He was lying m bis back «
same hard aad shghtly co rs ed snrface.
There teas a finid wetoe m amad him,
aad he beard a gurgle Gke that of w ater
going dsww a drainL bfmgfed sritfa this
sonn^ there sms a distant aad might y
s o u g hi ng, hbe thsi of son tremendoM
t coyrM . Greg had BO w**i^^****^ oC
cfac of tiBc- Kc oonld BOt know
Bfacthtf wofxtif, oc otAf houf9p Ind jobs
hf sioce he hod lut been oxBcioaiw
Wfaat he nw vbea be op ene d fait
M
ASTOUMDDCO tCnCNCS-FICTION
fcct
Wv
tW
catfd {rids banf
Tbmwuafa&C
Wit l cM gbv. rcddisb and dn, ia tfaoae
pidsw Tfaroq{b mbS boles sear Gets
the last lew ^«am o< sobc kad ol
S^aid was drainin f. b aeeaed that re>
cMtly the cadre cncyartment had beta
flooded*
Gee{ crept tedioaaly out fraao
the gr^ "This is Japiler,'’ he
dOy. "Tia m the priteo that tfaer-
the Joeians hiee locked ne a”
Od^, be warned to hqgh. Bat be
cheche B ^ aopoltc. haowiag that ia
He loohed at the arciac aides of th^
glohafar ebamher. Its waBs were t i asa-
-a ^ - _a^ -a a a a
SIQ QVOO^B UKIO ■■ CUnKHa
ight sift e d , aov hhiiih. sow
gny. aom savage, dazdoag while. That
fidccriiv iB a aonarinn was She 1^-
oing. The crasfaiqg rwaMes that west
anch k. Idroding sridi the aodBed and
dhrsot howl of a^<
ctadd he thooder.
P r ejca t l y Greg dis eDs md the
of the tra&shjccacx of Ac
haoL They were meant to be t raa sp af '.
era. hot oa their ianer surface a rime
of whitisb CTTstals was fanniag. Frost?
Prohahljr. for the cold oat there b eyo o d
this c rm p srtH wgt saat be ler iiSc.
Fnnaj that he dida3l fed cold, joat
ccwdortahle itxead. It was a0 ra ther
pirtlsng. Goessing the tru th was sdD
a bit brroo d hioL He coaid not kaow
that that frost — that ceaigcaicd. Earthly
water — had receotljr been part of his own
fksh!
"Heflof" he ifaooted. "Where b
everybody?" Hb voice e ch o ed load
and brittie and scraage in the narrow
condae s of the chamber.
There was ao answer, other than a
Eyond Ae wal.
¥■ Gregi
Ac I
tried to
fitic ebde of the frosL It fell
hottabaataacb Yet he Ad not
Imo BpoB iDcrci£Mt iBpficscioM of
Ab fact now. Fv there^ was aoo»>
THE FSOST robbed away, reveal-
sag a cryatal-dear s a h s rancr beyond.
Bdbrc the fatter was hbned over wkh
ice crystals again. Greg %a w. A eoa gh Ac
Aide, traasparcot s wh s tsiice . a half
gray-white amB, which aeemed
as fragile as p i peBrwi s light*
■ncra ucjvuu jjok creanw w
they h el o it ged. ghotiBg oa os
body wiA rtdccted s p a rks of cold
ire. lAe a anas of opaqoe kc spriaidsd
wkh the dost of tamahed siver. Lktle.
atk« Ac
at Ae enda of the i
Ac gfaasy i
Savagely, saoved Igr !
tba and horror. Greg Croat aciaped Ac
frost away from hb little spy w in dow
three eyes that gl na td at hia Bee the
highigiri oa a gka^ srahrtke at Ae
other side of a tefc cave. Thcyloolwd
Hte faeeted hks of d amnwd . b eh ind
which h om ed aa jatnae. p a r poa ef a l
thoogfat. De^ ki boeny hoOow of aa
oodL raon-^ray txotmtHXm vbmp
those orhs were set. Over each were
bright, red aarfan g s which Greg was
10 resoesnher.
The aaost e r was dearly not aeaat
to wait erect Bte a oaa. bat to crawl
wkh ks short, iat body ia alatitoatal
posk b o , Ba that of a mfll i p e de . Yet
there was a dbr ia n i rw betwm ks aa-
lacroas araa and kgs. The fatter were
« the edges of ks tmder sarface. whie
the former s pro ote d in a c ha t er from
the center of ks back. Its mooA was
a ragged, toot Mm oei&oe beneath ks
eyes, sorroended by tofts of thick faab
SOUkTHlNO PBOV JUPI T ^tt
n
that Ifac iofa
M far digc r*
k)r theca
frm ali^ k p ro j ect e d
cat ia fiaatioa a^
tiaafraai aaj rtfaiaK ra ao tcly
k that cooU bdaac *> Earth.
Crtjory Crolt
yaa4 the tneaparcBC wal. was a Joaba
.a - - ■ - a * -*- -a - a ^ ■ a^a
tKUaw VWIOi» fPOiyi ■ fCIQRBHB CET*
an 1 cfTcsnai crcKBfcs HI pflijiKU
pea ran e e. itiB naat befeec lo a
»**- - - a ■ - - ■ aa^ , » ^ » a
ncsMTJcr cJKifvfjr. wmever nos
caaU aot erea hare
aaler at kt hate.>etc ia tf«
cold td Jnpker.
If the ficai p c et a ae of aa
of anks deep, perfaapa aened
ia the Seth of dib wdrd detiL
nap art, of ihie aa omea t, Tao
fcjr the Joeiaa aad
C for the Sm taiK hi hit-
locy. A ftp of j ot e r plmct ary
had^beea hri^ Yet that
oaaiparcd to the
BMde of a thoanad Affctcaeca at
^ He
fck m o r e ior eM y thaa ever facioce the
of thoae d jgrrrarrt Aad
a only feciaf lor t
tier of Japiler wat cold horror
ply. haaete r . c oBad er iat the aBer
cr ad k y of the only anibhle acaat of
hard Meed la a^
Met en he ha a. at ia the paat.
Daniy, tfaro ogh the wal. Grey heard
haaxi^aaeaiatiaaBofcode: ‘Tenc*-
b^p Joeaa. jopker aiaaa—
GfCBory Croat
oalofthete
Bat hit
oofy the ncaett af
Ink Terret trii aP he
lookl>r-
Yct he wat gripped by a
to do
Aad n he
of their ai
tridceTIM a
■tl
the
of the JooM^ aaa Beaht E»ca
Gtcc’a
the fahrie of k ehaocad aa t
****** '
cede ha* poakioal
foafc. Part of Gregory Croat, the <
*Toa are a Joraa.** he apeled. Jaat part, waa ataaaed. Yet hia
at he had oftea doae back oa Earth, poorert. far a few
whea hit ooly cooiact wkh thete wckd reach dK heenoca of hh
Mk wat thcoafh the oMoai of hit coo* He nw port of the
OBC ray gen e rac e r aad d etector . *1 aoi eace^ aad akaato dearly. - How
a Tcrr e tt riin . TcfT rtcrii a — Earth, had he beea ia Joprlcr?. A kof i
Joviaa — Jepkn. Joviaa card — ^Tcnea- a iid cn dy . for the
triia hdp joviaa. HawP which toott hate heca a aeceanry pre-
PAST capcfi c Bc e nort bare <
the bciag beyoad the frotdeaa tpot hi the
al to todemaad ahat waa
wkhoia tpedal dM ea ky . A fc-
ia a harry. AI
the whle thn he Ml beea ia a Bale
^ ■_ a- a - -• *- - -• >.*- • - a
Cm mpOBOBB MKC M VTmt
oa Japiler, then fretca qa e bcaact bad
SOMKTHDfO PSOM JU P I T ER
at fc iwdrtA . even dMona^s of nk* fam^ecn aoBf alta ia cxtcaL FMff,
Mfaov. AWdccpiBdwptecfsaofid H leo*. it — t liwt hetm MtiUri io
core tfacR «M atil nnadi cBoach^ to c'WfxL Its roof was a oBae of (»•
bOfcr than tlw Eaitk. Ttas Jopiler for al taae. Far off io ibe ffotaot,
? - •--« O - *
wI skmkb Bnr% an fnan^ m con* ■m ibk nwrpB br ■ano oc aKMB
fpcraac'sapon. aad die oaxk of A* keat,aliicUe4 to protect |o«c*s«alMon
-? J - 0-?»0? - -* ^ - -
OOQS OBSt. BOK VOBI OBC KWB( vaBU. XCI^
kcat to fikriatt ■-*** Aad
OUT THERE bejfood Ifae oorriac. tfaep kacw bow Io creBe k. Krcoop*
tfSBUiircBt wall of Ak tBOB^QRfoep where oo ttos i^iaol/ ancldL oi spile of
Cross tfaooflO that he ciold oocaabnlp the low teospetatore, power oamei
g io y ae hflt and r vmd . mBp oafs aiodty.^haitinc oalp Io he haraeased.
thmo gh the Uar of the etesaal BacoL The Boor of the chaaiher was dotaad
save that prosided hp the bBodiac isfca less now aaad a hoB of JosianB. who
of hKht oin g. Tfarooch the tfasoMads of scraird Io wait |lk a rij ler orders,
aiea of atain s phff e ahose. ao trace oi Waoderiaflp, Gtep Crass loahed at
the diBaat .Sea’s raps coold ever pene* the three iaMense. dbo^haped thao{B
trBc. of OKtal that tested ia a hro^ aaaiBB
here, beneath al those eoaokaa tons of deed kot, bat their dBateets were
thep were on Earth, as the
of the late
ptCmPC* PraQ^H ViffPn • msa HMM BramHCB COKmBOEO^KBHGL
ware of panic that was half Msta^ia. . Grr«. Ite awod bterxed mi hewff-
la wffd Uw of the atesaa he derad. s lowed Miff Io he jostled ob,
firapa^ Bjinc, tatterp dbteds. and wen* BBti he. too^ was ahosrd one of the
dered wheth er thep were joB refsae (igaatic echiefcsL Ujp indteea. and aiaa^
borne on hp the h nnira a r. or ieiac pasaagea a%ht whh a aaft phoapharco*
nn^ic M|WB n- an oci^ bb nc cebi k vbb ofnoBp ^bdi be anm
JosiwB tbenweieea. MMeffiaa sphrraifcl rhiwhrrofdhont
Like a bit of lotsiBi. he was carried the aaae fiBcnaions as the one in which
on bp the lawipisc. bnxxi^ m te dtude Ik U ItB aw^ened. Its aides were
of ffip white homra. Sn w wt i airs hia of aetal, and it had ao windowa. Bat
feet t o w fhfd the loor. and he awnaged B its ceater was a cr p Ba l glohe. aarf
to wale for a few steps. Sssr^^ hornp near the gb b r rrare OKtal c o r d^ nap*
POO CS HJ J|K1I «%bbR vXEBMO^ pOCWB Bl m UllWmi SffBBfCBKK wf m
ifa rw gh the taaaKl. he Iho c^ ht of es* app ear ed into a hole ia the enrs ed sSl
cape. Bet he knew thB awch aa idea
was nsdeaa. for there was nowhere that NO ATTEMPT ana raode te fasten
he wight go. There was aothaag now the EarthasHL Bat nei th er dM he B-
for ban to do bB kt thsags hap p rn . teBpt te fnsnae hb tw*<— Tcaapo*
The p s ws g e d ebouched B hB iate a rar^ a fethargic spe^ perhaps rehOed
charaber. whose colosad rrp on ae aant to the ra aspal iin n which had ones
AST 09 NDDIO tdXNCX-nCTION
flf the
lad 6f
Ht dvBiped 4owm w t*r i j ~ Ww«k tke
€xyttti (Me. }
Al k« OK flf tfae^vUlad de-
parted. TIm iadmdaaT'^dM a feadcr,
Mflxfa d mdi'red dots flocr ila epcs.
Tte it was tuoe kader that Grcf
BBS ■m >ggPt toCfC VBB BBIC OOUBI^
for ahnjs, taoce be had beat h ti ed
froa the tmforaatioa eocofaftBari;
the c f t stur c bad kept dose *%biat.
Thb in d i ri dua l tg usiiH Hue* the
cfTttal globe . Sockxr-tipped iagen
aa ■ a rnw^A r». ja,-a_. » -s- -
m cpra. joooomjg wkdbi xbk
ffobr. there was l i gh t a p iet a e e of the
- - -a ■ - • a.*.a^ -a _ -• --t a a-
OBBXDCT ■ wsDCO iBr uHTlX COlQMH QMCf
Tested. The plaoe was d eser ted oow;
the horde of Joaiaas thtt had bees g«h-
'cred ia it doa btlw e wete al wkhis the
<Sscv
Aaotber cord was pul ed, sad the pic-
tare ia glofad teea»d to tide dm-
ward.' The gresi cnfl was tioag. How
it p r es sed s g aa wt the roof of the chaot-
hcr. There was a salt rfca ti o a of
aa htgas Ifacsi
There was mtj a geatlc, iniitii
rihrstio a. Greg corid ahnoat fed. ia
diat soft threhw the battle flf the BKdMK '
cal crioasos that hoee hrii. with the
aiightp gt a i i t p of Jopiter.
What was goiag tp happen? Gccg
feh a new imercst ■ the tlrin asoMd
To as
tied code.
T« m
the jom's
G reg ory Croat wooid
other i a aair i ej . had be k
toM bedooe.
ptagiag nobe. as the vesad tore thro ugh
the girders ri the roaC aa casdy
as-a ponA preaa aaght drise a hole
t hr oagh cardboard. For a la^ tw
aftv tec aothiag waa rinfale in the
- -n_a - a . ^ a - a. s B a *-n
VIMB (KpDC UOk M OBTk I0|^ BBTCC WKB
% ht a i ag. Greg knew that the craft was
thootiag op t h r o Bgh the ataroaphere af
Jopiter.
The rwioa globe cleared at iBB Idk-
c ored ia it were the stars of space, the
^tcancred f or m s of Jspikr't sa C cli t cs .
and a vast sea of frriing donds^JnpiBr
ntdf at doae tpsartera. S o nie of those
c h wds were while and rfran Others
were ti n te d with red or gray or hide,
d oabtlrsa by the pr esen c e' of sric ani c
dost of those r ar ioos thadrs
Eserywhere was a f roe e n. a we s om e
aicn^ Now the two other ships
emerged from the clouds snd g^*****^ in
the Stm. Jnpitcr’s baft receded. One
of the moons l oomed ahead. It was
Ganymede, largest of them al, aknost
IT WAS hoars beer that the ships
settled t o w ar d the de s er ts of Canymtde.
The Earthman looked at the tnmricd.
dmty d u n es ,, sad and Kldcaa, Some-
where here, he su pp os ed , he wooid d^
Just how or when this would faapp^
he. of course rid not know. Yet bw in-
terest in tbe fis rinario g nu ileiiu tet
^^^iogbefcrehmirr— lat
Wbic was tet in the gorge whsdb
nowlqrbclow? Adiy? Starier.mined
towers of white stone. Odd, polygonal
cnnr ty sf ds and plasaa. with blue abnd-
ows ri r Ttfb i n g ac rom them! It waa a
city — face one w h i ch bote tbe stamp of
ancsmCBcm and otter deserti on.
Prtaencly, grided by its control cords,
the disc h i sded at the ip of the gorge,
lo the met ro polis.
Only for a minate eras there ddqr
before ocher des ek poaenta caaae. From
several exits in the ship’s ftsrirs sw aram
of Joriont were po u ripg. Bot there
was wencthiBg quee r abooc them!
first Greg tboq^ it osighl be ooly a
trick of the bri gh t sanshine. or tome
a la i fUi oQ of the visioa globe.
Then he decided tet nesifaer of these
gnestes was correct. The flesh of these
ArrouKDDfo ichmcx-pictioh
tdt— — C— yaic— *» Ciycfc witfcrrif rf bet iHqnim
—yaf" Mfoi m entire piMMt nHdi nearer to
Qaaiat. i n ciknfc ybrnr e r Ml ef nb> the Sea dan C any a e Je. aaa ton faat a
•one agairaire Ya Grc|nr7 Croaa. yrtiMeni. Did tian abea homr led aqr
nained to Ike praktog af wcseti, anlcT- grauade hini? And if St dU.
aandL Caijaidi aattke orjgiaal haaae «to*tiai g r a tku d e gre a t caa^gk to
cf ike javianaf Tkae kad ktea in ia> p ron yt k to atteaga a falfdkncat «f tke
cakateUe <ea paa. »kca Ike Saa lad g«anik faaar ke had adad?
Uued in ks lat praae. Bat k had kat Gr« fek ha hope aaka« in a atm
itt head, aod Ceajraaede had kccnaie too vt doaU.
cald far ks pe ap h- Thrm.'doaktica hp Then the lender ipcflcd fait nipiag
aadjring Jairiaa ife. tkey fand leanad wp l j r. “Jeriaat help T er rj| tfii at a a
toak k to i
tkey bad kaed prccarioodp aa japker Gregory Croat vaaa'i tare that he
fa ages* thca atoahert doady dwaa* aidrr ao od ihit coraanaacatMa* hat he
dfag. When tke San had vanaed toak k to warn that the leader vat ex-
agai^ hcaaed hy ike ialax of Ike aae> preating aace n a i aly af aoaar kaad —
tearic aalier froaa tpacx^ fhey had deaht. perhapt. af hii and hit peapk'a
aaaaed to retam to tkw hen aarld. ahSty to be of ataistaaoe to the Terrtn-
Bal entoraheri. dtoiag dak long Jariiri triaai
IfMOOl^ BM KHI IW tCMBCC ABywAJf« M9T Hi IHi rnnHCCn ffSOCi*
arhick aoald hnrte enabled tkcM to kal caatrol c oayai t a aa. «kh faitaMic
change their He-prindple hack to ks nagic al ar oi aid . and aM a Brkg[ ia>
Jtoliae laraa Greg hacar tkal ihe sCndy KligcaBe caM ia feacfal fatal s eratk ai -
af hit ieik had tamed the trxfc. Tke lag hint akh aafathtaaalil^miry eyea.
aaliae SItM Gaaytoedc and ike nntiac k arat easy for a ataa U^hfc r t in —
ife af Eanh cfc t afr helaaged to the aetkiag at al! Grtokade? Greg ant
aialer, iatoead of igaid ananoaai. to to thadk of gratkiwle, oa the part of ddt
Bam ia ks dnoea. » a poadhdky. It ia
*Xardr Craw gasped. "I tee k a hiokgM Im tlw ife in ks aarkaa
anar* fnnas it I trgtJ i iaaaicsl sad cawaetkiae.
An odd wave of chdoa «ae over One haal of He nay aac aaotker hand
ban. ham of tke haaa ledge that he had to snk ks parpoaes. bat ty ayatk y he*
hrra the piaot of s great ackieatweat. ta c ca the two is an cxeeptioa rath er
He tkoagfa af Earth aad ks people, than Ike nde.
wlcf ing aader the* rays af a raidha Grig (hoagia for a awaweat that he
Saa. and for a womens hit ti atioo gave ant going to crack — that be aw going
him fretk hope. to t creaw BMsacly antfa the toetariag
~ 1 (TTetCrisa hefp ^oamu.* he apeded. sagaidi of utter howesiefe loaciaess.
And then, wainaatiy: "Joaims help Tkm he reaEoed his t cM -aaposed re*
Te s r ej i r i s at r* tpowihdky. Earth. M a nkind facing ex*
r mfi Osiij aa ih Earth
THERE WAS a^lang paane, whir had had a moon of the mne e har ac t er
the triple, fr osty krks af the leader at jopker't nnay moom. That atooa
ftadied ban carefaky. Did this drril aaght terre a porpoae!
nadentami what ihe aceda of the Ter* That, in aa ent i re l y wKxpecsed fash,
rewriam were? Probably. Yct« ci*cfi CroM coocvrnpd w mIts.
with ks vMt kanMNL w emtd k Icdow wss mi bb.on. wiem't be? Yes^ k
SOMSTHniO rSOM J U P I T EK
lY
Wk far a mmm to hr ca Im oana.
At IwM hr CDokJ trwt hfaaeX. Hrrr
vaa a iprrat ihi^ with cdutt
i acaa « ii a Uc. Thm wcrr hi ‘
Gnc hai mchcd tfat
thoar c en t ro fa. h had
wmf hmm the aaiod d tfar
Thr fatier'a body
thr idea hr had tho^cht af
gmc. la thr Udmaa eM af
rhdkd aathaar ariach prrvadrd ihr
cnotral taan af ihia ildp, hr karw that
aa yrt hr had aa thaa|hi af at*
' ta pat hat idea iato peaeticr .
It aerated tao anU. aad lae fadi af w-
errta i a ti e a . Or pethapa be aaa Mil
der'thr apdl of aoatr farai af i
ter aa its vital laid co ai d l aoh r far
aHrr tbaa a fra sec end s . G««f harw
that he’d havr to stay as he waa, ar
arhh a
Gref
- a - - a a. .1 \ g _ ■ •
■Mil ■OMO P O •OOfC. MUyWt ■ 4BC
af thoar devices there aaa aa .
that served to tfaaaaat the
Kaa the leader
hhacold taodr
V.
PRESENTLY Gref «td his
va c a r t i dK traaaparrat valve of
aardWeakto^ ^ Zs
, lor, v « vpa for hs
h aaa kfa^k al to thr
aherr Gref’s Javiaa
had oocarred. Whhaa h arre the
te haad of frida, sad thr
It aaa a pber af
aa Gaayaacdeaa.** thr t>— Vr why.
He acted on iafstbr, for there aaa aa
taae far-faftfaer thoofht. Tfar Javiaa
leader aaa hnay mom ahh thr lodt of
at al, thr
Uader
thr
of
Gref as hcatf odd. Bat
rooat lor'oaiy a lev <
He adteefed ahoot fiihtl|, aad dwtad
iole »Phrk.aan«ataaBKL The fetftfe
fartlahc:
The haaaf prov e d to he
"** lal^"
fort to beep hit h rari of s , Grcf T
oacofthi
deep iato the dark, adeat I At
iMl far
of
far they fa rffad faiad^
^Stopad,** he aaatefad, addaeadhtf
-Stapid fooll Thcyl fad
Grcfory Cross looked at his fr osty,
ftay-ahtie hairta. aad loaf ed ahfa al
hit aaiffat to he •T creeatf it aa Tems-
triaa** cooe mart, iaatrad of the i
oatcatf hr vsaa. Bat if be were
AST-d
d there were aa i
Kar waa k diffadt t
Thsa aailr-wtdr fap vna ae hofc
that la acarefa al af it vsaa aa ana
task. Aad rvea thra placra far hit
prraral lefofr vsoedd hr easy la over*
Now aad thea Grcf coaid hear dfa>
hiai that there
u
ASTOUNDIMO SCIBNCK-FICTION
WM uM actnitjr oa the vomL ‘At btt
o wto ok him. aad he «kpc
He awolcr t» fed the flip ol s P tu ia tic
cnmp ii tt i nw dmehmf it hit bo4/. cooi*
Him ilif him to dimh oat ct hii bidmf
phee . Bat he fritted hit teeth lad re-
fitted. P r eieo d y there were loaDdi ol
i lithir i Bf KTipe ol iotirfh i n f modof
■ij r (romiom. The compdbma woo e d
and rii i h e d .
AFTER A TIME the temiaa ol for
left him. aad he tiepc ifam. Oo iwak-
oiii«. he Ui hoi^. WiMt ion ol
food Si hd ftp ft. aiieo leah r equ i re F
He dMil fcJKtw. Neverthdem. explo-
ndoo ■od'i hit ol eeperoBcm o^
five him the aoower. The firtt thiofs
that cMoe to hood for macitipcioa weie
the tt ad t ed c y fmder i ooder hon. He
took oae lod b a tter ed it ofomat the wal.
A dear ty iiyy lofattaaoe oooed oat.
aod he tnorheif a dr oplet ol it to bio
Vpa. It bad ao acid tame which did
aot dbpieaae bioL He tried a Bole
OHce ol the maff. aad thea waited.
There were ao had effects, oo he caa-
amied half a eyfioder ol the myaerious
The w leace wai heavy. thM |a t a t ol
deaertioa. Rdieahed aod cariooi^
^ J ^ riL- - * a, *
QBaOCn w BQK U UUUQ ■ f IT
la a room aeC far away he fooad a larfc.
aioare wiodow. Beyood k the Ga^^
m e de aa dty sprawfed. hr o ur i f a l aad
fmcaatk oaikr the toy* ol a riaaf Soa.
C^ce aiore kt plaaa lad coo r tyar do
were Uc a awf irith ac ri rir y . aher the
pgaife ot afca. Actom the forfe that
dwhrrtJ it. a treaa a doii s ctdaaai ol
ttcaaiy vapor was risinf from a spot
of j nrandr w ea cc oo the dry mad.
Aromtd that spot. OMoy ol the crea-
tares who had ma de the eaedue from
Japiier were fa t hered. I> >iB «i Qf to-
ward the area ol fae were scores ol
ammive. iharp-poamed el ect rod es, ar-
rsafrl ia a dtefe.
^khat was the awanin f ot this ac-
tivity?
Gref coaU ooly
The
■
lnefalii|M
tafdqf place there io that far ioi u l y ac-
tive pylol atomic mcaa d ctte ac e t nn i-
were hrm f tom apart aad baft op afam
to fatal B to l eoifrs ol water vapor aad
ooeyfea. to coafaer the dryaesa ^ Caay-
nwdf . oad to replenish its depleted at-
am s phere .
Gref wondered rafoefy why these
weird faft hadalt loof afo fooad a way
to stody the hie of Earth, ehaaf e theio-
telrcs to aat G i it ya wh a a
and retam from Ji^ilcr to their native
1 BCy OQ CnOOBIJF pOMCMCS
loiowledfe ol space travel for
Bat thea he saw that there m ifht
he OBoy reasons why they had faded lo
do ihia CoiBf to jopiler fram Gony-
aade. coo si de r iaf the
oil
a a
jopiler is a far d iffw at sloty. It i
a msfhey aad w eB -dir e cted force
to £f^ sufffsrf dly the si amsteriaf at-
cnocni M Car iKHi Ol voraiio incr*
hipa, *^dariof iboae e a rher days of
Gaaymede’s ffary, h2r people had been
able to re a ch Japker and rotam. on a
saml. aad doob tles s very
scale. Bol it was caJy
only rcceBtly the joviaa c o lo a i tt s had
to send a s pa cecraf t So Earth aad
to escape from the world their i
Gr cf ory Cross coold
aaootes io impractical specafatfaas. If
be was foiaf to act. be matt do ao now.
whik he had a chance.
‘ HE SE.\RCHED topply room tmtil
he faoad a heavy metal bar. Then,
with the tmfies ol fear l ippl m f over his
body, he proceeded to retrace hb way
throofh mase of potrtfri.
Knoui incwxPi nr mesBO nr ptorr
before the eat ran e e ol the traasfonBa-
If
fOMBTHINO FBOM J UP I T ER
baa t o mfmnm tM where he had enped
frean the c w »ed y ef the Jovtaa le*^.
Or perh ap e he ibooU Ihinh of the era-
' tore u h Gaajmedaa leader now.
* Cinficihily, Grc( proceeded oa !»•
ward the tpherical coatrol rooBL
It was ae9 that be was careful, for be-
fore the door of that rooca a tehot
crcochM. CD ftard. Gref's heart was
io has throat* hot tahaof adrastafe of
aa aafle id the waB. he contiaatif his
caaitoos adewce.
Aad then. Use aa aeahnrha, of fury,
he leaped a pm the er»wiipectjBf awha-
aitaL The anaine bar he carried arced
ia a d iaphano ws War. There 'was a
sharp, ihaddiaf crash of croaipiiaf
awtal. ia the ooU. conpressed staws-
phere of awthoar. The bar reae afam.
tamhed dowa. met once, bat a store
of tnea. little s plint et i id crystal skit-
tered across the floor* fhotjof lesredfce
ia the p h oaphoe eseea l j B MB s Biti cn.
Stm the asMana of tfaia soaOest aie-
chanin l thief d ar t e d back the way he
had coat c. He fa i a t d a powferooi^ sfid-
iaf door, aiched ia the urml, its porpoar
cridendy besaf So seal the paaaafc. Per-
haps a safefoard afasast possAIr aas-
hap in space. It taok a BHaote for
Ct^ to locate the leee rs that work e d
the hofe ealee* hat he did so at ImL
There were two sets of leeers* so th a t
the portal aoifht he asored Croat either
tide. Gref imsrfrd the set oa the side
away from the c oo ti ol room tfaoroofhly
with hb bar. Thesu sasder his asaaipa-
lation of the other set* the portal shd
^airtly into place across the tnaneL
la all the other toancls oear by, these
wne timihr doors. Gref doctored their
rxtrmal lerrrs. aad closed them al. At
least, his intended actrrities wo ol dn't be
jaterfered srkh r%fat away.
The iraasparat door of the coatrol
room was locked in some tnaintcr. How,
Gref coold aoc dacorer, fo be attac ke d
it writh the bar. Thb barrier waa net
of nrtaJ as w ere the other doors, bat
E*ca its 'modi less ma ssm r a rurr oc-
tioD did not yield mail Gref had
pooisdcd asW pried at it for an hoar or
oiort. ' New he crept ihroofh the hreaefa
he had made.
The eisioa flohe ia the coctrol room
seat stS actne. I a k the city coold be
secB. taldof an aa aspect of new hfe,
the Son fiUmf ks faiirastic spires and
ramparti.
Bat Gref's fare did ose^hak here.
laMtad. k sratadrred to cable co nt ro ls
of the ship, the cods of the cablet sop-
ported aromsd the rim of a hf)oplicf
fraasc. Ib’bich one of those cords had
the Gaaymedcaa leader puOcd to caosc
the ecssd to rbe? The third ia the np-
per riffat ^oadraat of the drcslar sop-
port? Grtf wasn't ^oke sore, bat there
was only oat way to discover.
VL
THIS, then, was the mniarar lor ac-
tioa to bcfin. Gref’s hand reached eat
aad Hatched the looped end of the cable.
There was a prayer ia his bean aa he
toffcd fooly. la bis aaad there were
tease* m a ddra i n f aamoeic i of Earth —
pictoxes of fray, wmlfanrd plaias, of
a.s_ _a a — ; ■ a.« a. , * ■■
wIBOCCmOQ BOQ On SiCBCBBS DOBCS
inboiSdtd io tW <)csicc 3 tt 6 d ftgff tlttt faoid
once hero rich hi— it sod. " They were
hamn boars, yet they ees er coold be as
pathetic aad appeabaf as the few mSoo
people who stiU sur r i red in im d crf i e smd
retreats aad rac iaa a-shicfdcd habica-
tiens. Grcfory Cross had a kale main
who eras fire or six oow. He kscd
srkh his father ia the rams of Ghkafo.
That is. be did if he hadn't starfcd, or
pe r i s hed in one of the fierre storms that
ante aiffatly.
The memory of the chdd*s bsf. qaes-
tio oi af. h aim ted ryes ached ia Gtcf’i
thoDfbts as be waked tor tome sifa of
response to hn tiiffhif of the cable.
Soddcnly the disc ship fare a soft,
sway i a f larch. The sorfacc of Gany-
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
meit ia the viuoa CMe -«
dr opyit i f twiftly Wnoth.
Grcforx Craw acctptrd tlm fact wkb-
oo( dadoo. for the sfatxk of socceu had
r f d cx c d hin cmocionalljr nsnk StiO.
hd i rawn i n ^ power* leeoted to hare
ad iiexJ a ctTotal daricy and cootoet*.
Bcranac i|;aoraal ta m p eri ng mi ght re-
aok in a craih while the *hip was ttill
ao doae to the Joriaa moon, he waited
cndl the mighty thing that had re-
apooded to hi* command had attained
tfe f reed o m of ipooe before be did any-
thing farther.
The craft was cur eing toward Jupi-
ter. donbrlet* drawn in that directioa
by the gratritjr. Otherwite. k was mor-
■ng at a bale leu than a right angle to
the potkioa of the Son.
Bot^of these c imnmtanc e* req uir ed
p rmn p t correcting. And so Gregory
Crow began to pnO cable*, one after
a nother , gently, panting each time to
note the e€ca of hb act. That he dis-
c o e ei e d that for each cahie there was a
mate, which, when polled, neoiralitcd
the former's eSect. Thns there was a
cable for starting tbe ship's propobm
mrrhantwn. and for speedie^ Up cocr^y
reicaac ^~'taett)y increasing the poO.
^ere was a c orre sp onding cable
to derrease ener gy development, or to
kbm k off entirely, drawing tbe first
cable to "od" potkioH. Steering of the
ftfaip W9S by four
act at cqaally spaced points on (he cir-
c i nfa fen ce of the s u pport in g hoop. If
yon wanted the ship to turn right, yon
t in g ed the cable on tbe right. If yon
wanted tbe ship to torn left, yon ptdled
the opposed mate cable on the le^ In
a sknitar manner, the directio n s "op'*
and “down." talcen in rrlation to the
level on vrfaich the visioo globe stood,
were cootroOed by the opposed cables at
the top and bottom the hoopUbe
frame.
Pleased with his discovery. Greg pro-
ceeded to direct the flight of tbe vessel
toward the Sim. la the glire of the
solar orb Earth caald not be seen at all
wkh the naked eye. Bat that £d not
matter — yet.
HIS LUCK seemed rcmarkibiy
good. Yet there was sdD plenty to
vroTry abont. He looked inco the eisioa
globe for signs of p ursuit. Bat no an-
gry bulks wore rising from the dwio-
dl^ form of Ganymed e. He hstened,
and he tbooght be heard distaaf; grat-
ing Doeaes. Doobtieu there stdl we re
Jovtaas— G any m e deans now — socne-
where on the vesacL Would they try
to get to him? Greg didn't know. If
, their bodies had been transformed from
a Isqiiid ammonb basis to a water basis,
they cooUn'l live here in tfas* part of
the ship. Thea. loo. there were those
migfaiy doors that could not be opened
in a normal manarr by any one b e y ond
thens. * '
Greg was startled and scared whe n
he MW a small torpcdo-sb^cd craft pk-
Inred in the risiaa globe. It was near
the great disc ship he was g uidi n g . At
first be couldn't imagine bow k had
come so dose wkhoot being noticed ,
and then be gues a ed the troth. It had
been la anche d from the great disc k-
sdfl Aboard k do nb tins were Gaay-
medcans who had been in the ship w hen
k had started kt rnnaway flight. Would
they attempt some offensive move ? No.
they were bnniing swiftly away— re-
turning to Ganymede. Donbtlesa they
thongfat k ftmle to try to hak the colossal
disc wkh their pony craft. To them,
the former was now only a vast, onrnsh-
iog mau of nsetal. de reli ct and daager-
ons.
“Better and better.' Greg mattered
to himself.
Yet StiO there was a deep caaviciioo
in his mind that his good for tu n e could
not last. There were so many factors,
in the great riddle wkh which be sras
involved, that be knew noth i n g ahoot.
And he was depending so much on luck
and gneuwork.
SOMSTHIKG FROM JUPITER
He wa* awarr, too. tkat if tbe wid
t dte i a t tfaar he bad in Baod far better-
iof c o o dki o m on Eaith were e ar ned
oot. be wo«U (oreij perafc. For one
tfc-c. fron the rie w y oi n t of the ahea
viubtV which now aniwted fats body,
Eartir was, and bad always been, a
place of deaths*
Yet be poDed the tfarotxle cable to
foB. Tbe sbip was ac ec lcfa ri ot a( as
be haew. How fart
it (o at the fai(bcst s eJockj it
I? He knew of. M way to
amwer this ^nesboc now. He coaU
only g w cjs and bope.*
Tbe dbc was better than a nnle acToai.
Tbe Ifoon — Earth's nteliiie — was 2,ld0
asiea in diameter. A gre a t diRercsKc!
StiO — speed coold do a lot to aahe ap'
far fade of noe. Then, too, the aesael
eridcntly bad enoraons stores of power
lothed SB it somewhere. What if that
power were released snddenly, al at
c? Of com he cs^ not be
tof (
I he s c ran bed on the awtal wal of
the cont r ol r oom with the diasnoad set
ia the black oayx of kmsigBct ring. That
ring had come tfa o w g h all 1
CJUCpt lorasfigbttanaah.
bleaawhsle. the disc ship lore cm and
CM. the dwpaflmg JoTim system belmal
giriag eridenoe of its already vast vdoc*
ity. It was m e wi a g abnosl at r%ht
angles to the plane of its ft a ftmrd shape
now. with w^ was intended to be its
lop lacing the d ir cctioo of ks Starward
%«»«. so ks a c cekrati on provided a anh*
sutwe far gravity, wfaat acted from a
aatmal, "down w a rd" poskion.
FINISHING bis t e nta t i ve compota*
tions. Gregory Grom proc e eded to ex-
amine tbe visica globe nmre dosciy. £a-
cir d mg k in varioos d k ect i ens
rows of fine, g iadiulril marks, bhe the
graduated narks on the edge of a uKter
stic^ or rtder. Greg goe s ae d that these
natwte lines were far the pnrposc of
d ii ee ti ng the ship's co arse more acca-
rately, and far takk^ i rj g o swmetric
tneasuTem ents of ks poskion wkb rela-
tion ta other bodies in space. So« of
throe snarks were longer than others,*
and one was longer than any. hemg
tipped wkh a bole t r i an gle. Eke an ar-
row point. . Greg soon discovered that
when he klofctd Ihrongh the dear, crya-
taSttr t^atasKe at tbe ocatcr of the tri-
an^ he was feokang directly along the
fine of the ship's come. Beyond, pic-
tmed m tbe gfehe-ksdf. was the bka-
k« kiob of the Sot. and the nsrramrf
k« hfadmesa of ipnce. TIk trm^
then, might be as^ as a tort of
Greg sgaiaied iato k and <*■*
aaare acca rai tly t o w ar d a spot la the
of tbe tolar orb, where be caaid
aow IK the jfim, h^ speck which
the p os i boB of Earth and ka
Tboi«h bm kaodledge of the
• - » J - ■ * —
■fvtVra nhl wOOk mm^Uj
conjeclarc, his cakatattono had at leaiK
enabled him to p r e dict crisddy tbc.pom*
'tioa of Earth m ks arbk. cnabEag him
la locale k with a (air degree of a coo-
ratT'
As Greg had noticed vag uel y before,
the vim globe was pcriscopic: that a.
k p rovid ed a meant to look m d dirac-
oona. dep endi ng CO tbe angle from which
yon peered into k. If horn the fighg,
yon saw what was on the kft of the
sbip; if from the kft, yon saw what
was on the right. 'Straight abend was
vie we d from ks rearward ndc; and so
on. Bat Greg was not intcresicd in thsi
trs&ng pfaenosnenon now.
%
WEARY, and coodndav at hat tte
hit search far e videnc e of danger was '
melcsi, be procured a cybadcr of )
food preparation from bis former I
n j ASTOUNDING SClSNCe-FlCTION
pte^aod rrlnmed to the control dum-
ber. Hiriof eaten, he went to
On awatceninc. boon later, he b u nJ
the view in the visfoa {lobe c haa ge d
enuiderabiy. The San was hn^e aorw;
Earth was a brifbt star, and the Moon
was a ksaer star -bevde k. At speeds
ol a thoQsassd or nore mdes per s c eoes d,
eren iaserpbaetary dtstanrrs are swiftljr
shoetcBcd.
*Grcc nwde other caknlatiaos. taloac
ioSo aq co M wt the naarenenu of the Earth
and tbit Ifooat. Once more he adjtated
the control cables o4 the ship.
"It won't be bof." he l uu t tcr e d .
"When this ship r e a ch es the s ici nit y ci
Eatth. it will be doiaf aboot lea thoo-
sand a acoond. That's thirty-six wiBiwi
naksanhowr! I hope what yoo're try*
io( to do doesal jai asake yon a
Grcf Cnma. I ho^ yoa lealy soooecd
in he^ n n ^ those poor 'deeds bade hooM.
Otherwise yoor fade-odt sriB be— phai
vn.
HE didalt naCke the fteakhy ap-
propth of the robot-shape that had
dropped Cron the open end ol aotne*
thsi^ ifani isns lice a vrnulation dnet.
set high in the waB'ol the passage. Be*
a ?- SI a f_. -a _ a. a
IBBB me fmiOa ft Dceucmcr 90tt/
reared op Hk a nan. toweripg ower
biaa Foot asetal amw encirdisf his
torso widi a grip that was hteraBy ooe
of sicci
Reaiiratino of what was h app eni ng
HMd d ene d tam. Throogh thb senn-in-
IcBigcnt he n c hman of theirs, the Gany-
Hwdeans had at last foood a way to
reach him. Wares across spore — com-
wufi ind the mrrhsnica l
braio of the robot was able to fin in the
details of action. Oodbtless the Gany-
nsedeans i n i gfa t hare nastered Oom ii-
rectly. by means of their n enr o aic com*
p o l iioo. acting through recciiers which
anast exist on the ship. Bat this way
eras simpler. Perfaops they had waked
labi now. only to piay cat and moose
with hsm.
Gregory Cross fe og h t the robot wkh
an kaane^fnry that was bndeed op
ah the borroc a hiaiiin bf mg cou M icel
fo^ these d etn ots s that bad come oot of
the coU h oloc aiin of japker. by the in-
hinnsn strength of his akcred body, and
by al the anger that a defc a trd aad rkaJ
pu r p ose could give him.
Headnevednatyng. Tho stolid. ts»*
chaoginf grip of the M anoi at o n did not
relax. G^'s exert i nn s only served to
deplete Ins energies, and tn bemg bnn
otter exhaust io n. He fdt hiniaclf car-
ried akag by to aortal conqueror.
Daacd to the poi^ of inw o ntci o n Bi eis .
be thought be heard n a s er y aounds
ar ound ban. His nund bh sr red away
tbwiy
'The next be knew, the robot was car*
rywg hnn awifdy a lon g the same cor*
/rsdor. iat to ward the m^ n l toon in-
stead of away firom fc. He coidiht'k
gnesa what had taken place dnrasg the
' c o nsider abl e tune that he moat have hetn
iaert. But there was aaoKlhipg odd
aho« the variona d etail of the skua*
don in nhk fa he fonad hsanelf 'The
aounds made by the robot's feet on the
meal floor of tbe paitigr s ee me d less
feud than they bad bdbee. as though
they were transsnkird by a med i um of
■ lower density. 'The iPi mint rin g phos-
phorescence had a dsflercsu quality, and
Greg fck cnU.
But sight of the control rooea ent r a nce
ended his vague spehdatsons. Fixed
purpose took possession of hnn. He
struggled wkh a new sreaknrw in the
robot's dutches. T^ intensky of his
soifle ohjcctriv allowed him to fed no
wonder when tbe mrehaniwn released
hnn. He scrambled to the battered door,
and thrcxigfa the op eni ng tLat bad been
blasted in k. <n
la the control room, on hands and
knees, he peered into the vtsion globe.
Now be paOed ecmtrol cab l es , sighting
23
SOMETHING FROM JUPITER
thr em h the <ca:«r ti the iraacvlar ~D)mi yooP be tcrc am eJ as the
■ark. The ship vas periectly aii{ned robot bore boo off, icmn the tvrhier.
as last oa the httle ]rcll^ arc that was
the Moon, ahead. The Earth, beside THEN, slowly, gode ntan dif be^aa
ii. was a saall. tof g y cr rs ccn L to dawn oa hao. He taw hts arms, fats
Grv( stepped bock. He was aware han^ Thf7 didn't look frosty and
that only ninaics rcnaiaed before the fhotdah any nort — they were the shade
>
Aa imttm* later, Mooa aad tertlrof diac-sMf srere blatted omt ia an
iatoleraite Mate ot tight
crash. Hit job was finished . Unless
the robot Bsterierrd •"
He turned deiensfrely toward the
thioK- his body at a crooch. Bat a sks-
der metal arm shot toward him l&e an
adder's toa(ne. wrappinc ksclf around
hit naddlr. He was yanked from his
feet and draped throoffa the racx*'^
rent m the csotrcJ room door.
of normal, brotued. Eanhiy flesh ! He'd
been rrtrastsionncd ! The robot mmt
bare carried him to the transformatiea
chamber while be was oncoaseioas, and
had pot him throofh the r r re r se of the
process to w hi ch he had been tobjected
on Japker! The air around bin wasn't
com p re ss ed methane now, bat ns eri-
dently of moch the tame comp o siti on
M
ASTOUNDINO SCIENCE-FICTION
axtd dtaiky at that o( EanK for he vat
fareadaBS it in a natural matmcr! The
mrlhaae nuut hare hem p m npei i out
of thete paatacct aarf chambert. aztd re-
placed bjr cmapaxatiTely warm ozjrccB
aad nkrocm from tuppljr tanks! The
robot had hem the afmt of this cbaage,
of coune. Yet hack of the robot’s acts
ctrtainlx there b]r the purpooes of
keener, kinder nundt than its mechani-
cal brain mi(ht possets Grt{ knew
thm that thpse minds were certainly
Canjmedean. sending their orders
across the void doubtless by means of
the artihcial cosmic rays which the queer
foBc of the Joriafl syitcsn used (or loag-
"How — how can it be?” he m u t te red.
“It’s not — seme! Those devils never
wodd ” He left the phrase na&s-
ishedL for it did not keep pace sritfa hb
s p eeding thoughts. "UnJess.” he fin-
tshcd savagely. ”they’ve got some new
dirty trick up their sleeves
But this sras no time to think Too
Hsnch eras happening. The a momato n
vras now bear^ Greg down a side tnn-
■cL The tunnel ended in a c yli n dr ical
oompartment srhkh hmsed a small, t^
ered sp a ce boat Greg soon (o si n d faim-
sdf iuide the craft srith hb metal es-
cort. There sras a thrusting }ok as the
little vehicle sras harted from the now-
opened end of the cyhndrical comport-
ment by a la u nc hin g device, and pro-
jected out into empty space beyond the
outer shell of the great disc ship.
Thm tame the daring pressure of
terrific d e ce ler ation, as the robot plied
control caNes to r ed u ce the speed kn-
paned to the small vessel hj its mother
craft.
Again Gregory Cross' brain was
dipped in the blackness of ob li vion.
VThm be came out of k. the great dbc.
directly visible through an observatioa
window at the front of the cabin, in-
stead of through the medium of a vtsioa
globe, had dwindled to a gleaming me-
taBie dot, far ahead. Directly in ks path
was the crescent Moon.
Such was the pianre srfaich hb eyes
captured ks an mfiokesimal instant. But
move m ent m that pteture sras far too
swat (or human eyes to foDow.
In a split lecood the coDbioo of Noon
and dbc ship occ ur red. There was no
sound to k in the sraciann of the void —
just a smsation of a st upen dous puff of
n(Ol CBH DfXWI^PK >CTUn^ QODQOCiM,
That fight sras a by-product of a speed
of tim th o usan d miles per second con-
verted suddenly into the e n ergy of heal,
and rnmbening with the greater heat and
te rr ifi c bla stin g power of the atomic foci
ks the dbe's tanks. The fad that had
hem set off by the inco rs cei rable impact
to w fai ds it It^ hem si^jectcd.
WHEN Grec's Hsaon had cleared
again, be saw, srfaere the Moon had
been, oisly a vart ppll of dust and cock
fragmessts. shiniqg faintly red wsth heat.
'Slosrfy. along what had hem the dbc
ship's fine of ffigfit. it was lengtlscnkig
out. whffe k espanded hteraBy. Its fsr-
tfaer cssd. polled by Terre stria l gravita-
tion. was c ur ving aromsd the Earth.
wfioK lu rry bulk hung i m ob tr usively
to the ri ghts Across ks deserts, vbible
here aad there through the kig. a
friendly shadow was ap pearing — a
shadow cast by the hasar srrixk age -
Greg kssew that that doud of rock
and dust which had ooce hem the Moon
srould gradually dbperse ksdf around
the Earth, to ce w n g at last a screm of
debrb that would shield Terra from
that awftsi torrost of solar heat and
dimming U to a point where it
would no longer be dassgerous or harm-
fuL Thb meant new comfort once more,
new surface ckics. new vegetatioa. New
hie and f r eedom to the peoples of Earth !
And because one moon bad broken up
to (orm Bsyriads.
G r e g ory Cross ooold hardly bchevc
what had taken place. He turned to-
SOKSTRINO FROM J U PIT gg
I Ike roket bcaide
It
The
■V iHBr pdl, ID CKlfC
*■ -•- - -^-D-— - • D- - - • ^*- - - -*- i*
fnOKQ Wf IMWH> K.
Oaee afaiD. lo a kaaer decree tlna ke-
ierc. ODBC tkat kcrce prt— rc ti dt-
lUtJMWi IMS B i^KC OT
i ^l o cJlj , Earth a«cpt twibif part,
kcfaa to dwiadle artcra.
G««c fek a Saih el pane Wkrt
tke rokat tryiac to do? Birt Ikea Goeg
: k aort ; it aoidd take koara
to krk« tke apocerfdp to a kak. for. ke-
(orr kt hoDiiaDg. k had kcea afeiard
the grcac'jkac tkip. and had arto ra l y
received toe aae treateodoert aoedera*
tka. Koc iBtd the fidk enk kail lort
icmdc SpCBdo ooqI 4 to re-
trace ka tray.
Bat rtfl Gregory Croaa at
dend. *nV Gaayartdcaae arc
he add daacdly. may aaaat he IrieBda
they— (fid al they (fid. Eraa
1 raa array wkh their dipi fiat
hea caa rack deaMda be Ir i ta di y le
EartirtDta? Dif ercirt kra^ el He
eially areal ’
Them Gecg farad afcat Boat
hcca tke raiarr. ‘Xet'a rev e r ae the
he BMOcTcd Id kirat^ tty*
; ID ' '
Ike
WealdaVtkcrc he at leaat a good 4aacc
Ihra T er r eatrira ra «odd he kiadly dra-
poaed loaard tkat crrrtare aad al rta
kiad, rrca if tke price waa a coally
-The
ga ea ae d wkat 1 ana goiag to i
tke Uooo. Nothiog i
'parald rrainoin g. lhaC*a al. Maybe
a nmeti a ir thcyH c c ra e lo Eatik — the
'hear «dB‘l atop drao. aow that they're
tlui jlHd Maybe* th^l oorae lo eoa*
foer. hot not far a krag dra
far there arc oofy a few ol
they hare pleaCy ti room cm <
hetw ce a oora Md then, fata el
clcocr, tooL**
M^ horaa Irtcr, hara« cheeked'ka
ihdpT(
Mn. TWr. MayM
T 11£ port lock opcacd wiik «
iii(fat Ibm, and Tctkaidn Jack
Grafaan stepped out. He rac krd
in gmt mouthfab of tbe wiae-nck air
of iJbb nnr ptacct. aad k flooded tkroBffa
bb bdaf a draa(ta of aa aedcas
Mr-ffriaf efixir, afaiefa toodbow leencd
lo heal aad tooefae the fear that bad been
— aad rS] rra* — a black tfaadov «ei(b-
beariljF oa bis mend,
Tberc was a soa of sorts or cf b ea d —
aa aacirnt. jrnoarish son. bathirn ia its
b ene fi c en t (lov tbe loof roOiaK sweep of
the (ardca bad. {partly flo wiag ttrcaaii «
sraaad pfadd^ tbroDfb pd«i an ulna i
and aaoRK (reea trees^ Hit CTta id*
lowed tbe borixoB roond aad he pepH
at wbat be taw. Taraiac. be cdled
wkbia tbe tfaip>.
'Rodd^ Sari, mei^aior aad anaear
aRixnocaer. aaswered: ‘"What is k? Fm
cocniaf as faR as I caa.**
Radd]T Sari stood ia tbe lock, wkb one
haad thsebag bb C7ts againK tbe glow
of tbe ssa while be Icilowed bb coa-
rade's poiadag haad.
He wbbtled softly, aad there was tar*
prbe atsd awe aad a lack of u oderi taa d-
V
a . ASTOUNDINO SCtBNCB-FICTION
iof is wtiat he did not sajr. hot noed/ The pboe scexm ho3t to btf focc tee*
bat fareT cr is so lone ** There was
these was awe. Awe tefls the story
where war d s leave off. and macnifictsw.
and s u preme, and saffaty. and c o l oM al.
and all the other adjectives vrould not
have described the dty half as weQ as
the irords Roddy Sari did not nsc. He
loolced. His eyes brou|ht him evidence
of s t upen do u s hescht. of story piled on
story that reached up to the cloo^ them*
sefr^ of fiacefnl lines and sweepi ng
curves, an edihee w rou ght by the pa-
tient tod of uncounted gaseraboos la-
boring to create in material rtiings adty
adequate to their vast dr e amin g. And
fass eyes also told him that the dream bad
failed — for thr csfy had cn a nbled and
was stiB cn imhiin g to the ground. His
eyes stopped scring at that po in t and
1^ mind took up the task, wondering
vriiac had happene d to the men who had
buik that city, what emU have hap-
pcssed to thwart the a ndi i tinm of a nee
capable of such c os mn saioo? War?
Peatdence? Fanune? Flood? Back on
Eanfa — with a shock and a wrench be
Tcaitted it was the Earth be wo ul d never
see again those four faenrs took in-
evitable toQ of \be ambitiasts cocutme-
tion of men. War? PCstiles s ce ? Fam-
ine? Flood? Barbaric bobgobims of a
civ iiiati oB in the state «f barbarism!
B<n here, ou dus u nknown ptanet.
some migfaty race had risen above bar-
barisaL Tl^ evidenee was ir re futa ble.
The race that budt that city cmdd not
have been inv olv ed in war or threat-
ened by pcstdence or Sood. What, then,
had happened?
“Perhaps Graham showed
w here fats tbougfats vrere running. “Per-
haps there are people here some w her e
who can help ns
Rehactandy Sari forced himself to
think of the presenL
“Yes — yes. there may he — stilL There
oooe vras. no doubt of k. - But — wrcQ. no
ttlhag bow many years have puated since
the inhabitants left that dty. Ten ifaou-
sand — hundred thousand — a naHinn
an odd tooefa of pathos m fats voice. He
was thinkin g of the wasted materials and
bhor. And most of aH. of the wasted
dreams, so adequately expressed in the
gray rum to w erin g toward the yellow
sun.
“You are ceruin.“ Graham anxiously
inq uir ed, “that you don't know srhere
we are?”
Sari sfarwgcd el o qu e n t shoulders.
“Last night, u we vrere d r opp in g down
to this planet, you saw the Mars. Did
you reengnixe any of them, or assy of the
mnstfUarions?*
GRAHAM shi v ere d. When the warp
had released them they had hurried to
the ports, and al around than, ttretriwng
away for bgfatycar after li ghtye a r, m-
fi niteJ y distant, had been die stars, pm
POHO Of CZpiOtBS^ npV JfBfMC lac
hbde fabric of dead space. Stars— and
tt far as the eye could reach morestars.
uned a0 c ots cepti oo of their niunhcr was
lost, and in t^ vast rapotwe of space
no coosteOatioa that they even r esn otely
recognued.
Home — home The green faiSs of
Earth to far away that even the stout
atomic engine s of the Dmm SUr could
not posh them there. Graham rwaBowed.
then tried to grin. “Wei. we can make
the best of it What do you say we
go look?^
“AB we can do." Sari ans wered, step-
ping bthdy to the ground. They h^
not taken a donn steps before Graham
slapped at bb bip.
“Foobr* he growled. “To go run-
ning around a strange planet vritbout a
gun of any kind. We've learned beuer
than that.“
He turned on bis bed and strode rap-
idly bock to the sbip. When be ret u rned
he was buckling a poskrou gun to his
body. He handed a sccood weapon to
Sari, who silentiy gazed at k.
FUGHT OF THK DAWN STAS
29
’Tui k ca.” Cnfaan uap prd.
**A1 rifitic — cb}j — well, tlas world
kola io c oofeu Dded poe rful tte cren
tW tboofbt of a gDo b to m c h ow rrvoll*
**
“Ye*, but M matter haw ihkifs took.
I k's peaerf o l after I'fc fr wtd
Ibb tbiaf looM on k.”
Starifi( at the cky. Sari bodded oo the
{OB. The cky was to baft aad tbe gtm
IO agxt l y tjk jw Ooold Hast aa awfol
bole in ibe diy as^tbe Steam of re*
leased poak r o B S cn i n bi ii e d ww tbe dec*
irou ^ tbe b uddin f materbl— or aojr
other nntcrial— — blasikif ds electrons
km> Botbinaesa mid rrlram^ a fcod of
rays. A very tfBAnt btde
Men of tbe Solar S|mai
a me far them. Wbea Kars
raided Jopker or japber raided Venm
or ekhcr of them raided Earth, the
• • -«w 2^ .S? A ->
ggfprt S MOKCw jCWWnOW ■ WC HC
If be a sorrowi a g silence. Morek
an empty west, from which the
ba wB g no fasv? a me far k.
bad I
They walked on, and tbe dty
bi|b above tbem, risim tier oo tier a
tbe sky, y e am int toward the
"No one here," Sari mid tboo(hthdiy.
"In tfcia qoiet air sodb a cky wonU Imt
far eternity, faecrer and farcscr~oml
then a day.” Hb tpoke traded oC.
d oes net term possfalc,”
prot e s te d, **tbm a racemiclisent
Docb, to bmU dm cky
perbfaed. Bat k has.” And he
of Nineveh and Kamak md
Thches md the rw of Baafteh. fcsfar-
■C ander Earth’s son of
; in the vmt void of I
k timed men and i
of apnoe. Occasfaoaly, when
fnrr a Iw A -O- .
lOrCB KM m HbBM CDC
Bat that was only a regrettable
Feth^n k vmoU be needed. SmI
BOL The me
a dty coKd hmU
Only frnm the way tbe cky be hed,
■•J-o a-y ■ ■ - ^ -9 A- - -sv -
wWWm^B^ vKT IKKIl SOB WU
where they c o uld not bear tbe :
tbeb own iootttcfM* tnAtf trees isd
Kms StreSBit SpfVOKiHd tbt oty.
Tbdr eyes lutoacd cb k, ^ the oc-
cesiocal bnrricd ^;tsnccs over tbe land
revealed wbat each was ibinkaf. What
had becom e of tbe d cjcmda ats of the
race that bo3l tfaosc sky4icb towers?
There was no iifn of them. Had they
nniihril into tbe vast void of fa rpott e n
tbioft? Had they so m ht a new borne
els ewh ere ? Had tbe natnral resc ur ce a
of tbeb plaoet faded — bole ly Sole —
oab] there was net cnoofb kft.tw top-
port tbe infaabkants? Who co old tel?
Tbe cky bad seen tbem (O. bat k was
AS IF m refacatioa. the nr wai
deniy vfaraoe wkh the. note of s '
Then another voice took on the i
it here.” aid Graham.
‘Tjoak,*’ Sari breathed. "No-noC a
the cky. At that meadow there."
There wm a Sah of bre am ia the
meadow, and laacfam( and <
the s hadow of tbe trees emit a :
Naked, k was, and secmkiKlty k needed
no dothiof. FoBowinc the first fifv^r
were others, aO '* r"‘*'***t the slept of •
-*■ -n _ » ■ a- - -
iDjiBSK once.
“Chddrm." Sari vrimpered. "Nw—
yoadM,”
Jack Graham mid to
Hb voice wm h ea vy wkh
la the shadow of the g re ates t cky he hod
m
ASTOUNDDCO SCIBNCB-PICnOH
iIk yot h of o race «m fiiy-
WUe tke cr rari o w of tkdr
they pl a ye d tfly i
dtdr am and toMtof tlcir bodies ia ifae
cardcaly’ a a digtnat of tbc
tof worbars wbo
V-^ a a tf- -
OM WmtO mOn QXtmWQ wO€ Plffn. \M
«aa tfab ln«? Pti f iap s ibe race of
b u id cif had pcntted aad these yotha
bdooffd to a n ot her ctocr^pof race, a
|TO<V bepooioc the slow dal
froto saeapry to dedtsadoa?
dd not u od erst awd. If they were aa
exterpoc race, bow coold they play when
that toiibcy cay was there, broodof oocr
la« se cr e ts , fhfilimpag the i —pwain o
of any fen^e sand to soire ka toys-
Sort s t e pfo d oat froto brlawd the tree
aad waved bis araa at the da nce rs aad
Grahani swore at fain aad fifled his
-Pto it dowB.‘’ 'said Sari
the wcapoo.
“How do we know they're frienfly P*
arpsed. *roi not takiof any
The daerr s s to ppe t L They sec o nd to
freetc ia thesr poeirioas wlak they stared
^*the two straap fipifts who had so
s ti dd c p iy appeared. Thca they
ftoing. dasrint over the mrad o
ward theta, aad Grafaam'was
has pa^ hit iapr oa the trifpr. He
had ne v er ha o wn a forai of bfe that waa
Bor at war with all other l om s of Kfe.
It was the law of e vo lu t i o n a
pay law powa hoary t hroo^ fa
p t te a aps of sarvivaL
Then the dancers were on then and
the air was hBed with the chatter of
Toioes that were so meh ow friendly and
not at an enrioas. Grafaan eased the
p r esnir e »on the tri gpr aad waited.
Whh the excepbon of s n in ne differences,
they seemed Uoe serentee n- yea r-old
yowths from Earth. Their faodn were
slender aad utterly naked. Their hnU
were w tff lor eu ed. symoaetrical and
paoefiL Their eyes were wide aad
sadtoff- They carried th ems elv es with
a avenetB. with a oertatoty that ans hdl
of tocaanc
Sari sto o d there saainc. a little ahead
of Grahani, and the fire youths danced to
ui d u B tea feet of fain, nod then s t opp ed ,
■oddenly. Their eyes weia wide and
the sasle on their faces died ooL Cari*
only r ep lac e d the Bade aad thesi a add
wonder, aad aned wkh the wotsder waa
aa awr ia which there showed a trace of
fear.
“Wetbooche
Graham d r opped his paL His own
faraiB talced to faimt
“We thontfat yon were Uhaa aad Dar
bu t yon arenT. bb'hoarcyoa?'*.
“Straapra 'from a far land.*’ Sari
answered, tayerturbed, aad Graham,
imhiap pi ri e rd up fan paL He had
been oa Mars often ca oinfa to know the
poanbCdes of t e lep a t h y, hot he had not
espected k here. The Martnas were an
on rOOEs OB MKlClms lUfaCII rOCC. OOI
these pe o p l e were y n u iy . Oboionaly
they bbonp d to a race on ka way ap^
whereas telepathy was somethm^ that
only a very old nee c o aid use. Con-
trolcd tdepaefay t ooh beam power, and
beam power mean t un t o l d years of
evdotioa. Or k woe ie d- that way in
the Solar System. P et ha pa But
they wer e askia{ q ur Binns
“Straapo? There are no straaprs
here."
SARL, aaviptor aad amateur astron-
ownr. tried to crplain Only he knew
how hard a'task he had. Even if this
race ^ have the ahiky to «de telepathy,
bow coold be espliiB a space warp to
them? Yet be lean he had to explain k.
They wanted to know. He had the feel*
ky that if the expbnadon was not ade*
quate — but k was only a feefity. Gra-
ham kept the pm ready, and linened.
“We shoved off from Mmnry. the
tf
^ FUGRT or TCT DAVTN STAJt
pluKl Kiiat «ar ■■■. nd joM for ibe
beO •{ it. aoKly, lot alM h wTim 1
■ iMtd ta cbtck the bcwfin g cl bft( t*yt
. — d tT tbe Sea’s aass, pflfcfd oof ibip
ia tewd tbe Sea. Yob kaow. ee
aia t e d to see bow dose we coold (et
witboai bcsB( be m td. I had ta id ea
hot M aattcr. We sreai ia ts dote as
we dared, to (be pent wfaerc tbe ptfitj
•4 tbe aa(faC7 laaat had as ia toefa a
d(fai trip tba oer capa es c o ul d se tr e ej y
pell as o ut ' wbca w iegthsat h s p p ear d.
1 thiak a s wiipot eipfcidcd su.
AoTbow — tbcrc was a ftadi of hbadatf
h^ aad tfaca everjrthiat srat black. Tbe
ship creaked aad f Tc aacd aod popp e d
aad tbe e a c «aes had ao eflccL Ryaj-
thiaf was Mack for hoars, aad tfaea a
sort oi dim filtered thir a nh the
ports. A(aia there was a cJkk. sad we
were ioa ri af ia space with a aew aas-
aerse aroaod as
They ssere fiseesiat wery a t icati w dy to
Sari GralMB thoatfat— jet as tbos«b
they oaderstood it al, wbca c*ca Sari
dido's laiderttaed k. & was jast gaen*
iac. bat it so un de d fike a good gacit, as
good assay. Aad here tb^ snre. wbkb
somehow seemed to prove that Sari was
right. Graham cboM Bp iaride. They
wcMd acrer aee the roWia f pMst d
Earth afasa — arver. Bat he kept hsa
finger on the gaa.
Tbe fire brcesxe yrsabs ooBfetred.
Graham got the idea that they ssere
sorry for Sari aod haa. that they wo ul d
hdp if they c o ed d. they coaUa^
Thm wam't aay way to hdp It was
• wnpossiMc. Tne wraan't loi^ CMsglL
Tbe Dearest youth s m il ed at Sari. *T
am Nard." be said. ‘'Yosff story bat ta>
terested as. What h a ppened is Italy
very simple. Yoa ssere t sswt e d oat oi
your space and into another tpoce, and
then back ioto yoar own space, bat you
dida't come oat whe r e yoa sscat ia. You
looped through byper*spaoe for aa un-
told distaace. It it uaf orti ma te — ssc are
sorTy.” , _
Graham Uinkrd. They uad er sto od.
Aad they aatsscred SarL Hat ia wards,
bat ia pare ideas. Tbe words they i
to each other were aa obsesve hot 1
iagiy faaafiar chart rr-
Bai they karw about space. They 1
It s cB Bad impciirible Graham
gfao etd at tbe cky ciim h in g ap tow ar d
the sky aad ba^ at tbe fire slender
aripGoga. He cooU not u od erst aod.
Tbm waa a oehaloas thsaght ia hit
mind He took his finger off tbe
trigger.
Hard smiled at hini. He o oddt d to-
ssard tbe city. ~Yoa are woodering
ahoBltfit? Oar forbears hoik k. ia the
loog age ' He ased a tena that ia*
&atrd taae, hat k carried do aseanicig
to Graham Too yast. Bat he fdt a
strapge nottalgic toach af esny.
Sari sraa. aakSaf g acm ia na . Sari
wanted la kxiow. Where were their
OOCfflf VVBlK OM Pi^pCBBO W JHMB
them desert tbek ckics? Were there
ocher people Eke than aa tkia’plaact?
Were ibm gkk? Did perplr <t
beta? Fbofiah^aeaciaaa. BolKac^aa*
tbe ana ss cfs there
tkat Graham coald
ad Sari, too,
■a p erp lo uty .
THERE WERE eo elders. Nmd
said. They ssere tbe eUera. these
striplings, these brooicd assd carefesa
yootbs. They newer grew aay older
thaa that. It ssaa p t inlia g. They gsew
older ia years hot not in p h ysi cal -de-
v rkataar a t Here, tbe decrepkade of
old age fid not ezisc. They had merely
arrested ph y sira l chassge. Nard talked
ci DlolcOlitS Md ttOflM Vid VWeS Ittd
vibciciopi. He dD^ deep mo tbe eerve*
tart of gutter , gad Sari aodded lor a
dgK aad then t oppe d ao d d in f aa the
C3cplaaae>oo wcac beyoad laai. Aad
Cnfaua did ace loOow thtt lar, bat be
karw cbac Nard bad told hiai wb^ tbej
aevei |[rew o|dL
•» ASTOUNDINa SCnENCS-FICnON
Yes. dvre »tre {iris faert. sad people
died, too— dtooch only tkrou(h scridrat;
sad there acre emsy others Uec them.
Ssri m g n ted to Ksrd sad his com-
p aei ons that they rctnra vkii them to
visit their ship. They weat. The Dmm
Star rested soitly oa the deep {rase.
Nard weaC throoih •(. akh his feHovs,
aad Sari explained how it operated, aad
they were politely iatercsted. but they
were am aKaoisfaed at aB.
*^there are ships soaaew faat hkc this
om <>«er there ia the csty.” Sard ex>
pfahaed. *Their pe ia dple ol operatioo
b d idefcat . hot the residi u the saax:
they iy."
*Oaa‘t yoa ever me them?" Graham
ashed.
"Oh, DO. Off a nrrffnrs flew e v er y-
wh ere aad le ar aed evcrythia(. aad if we
waated ta kaow anythb n we wooU (O
iaeo the cicies aad look ia the h h carie s
aad the aaswer wmdd be there. Bat are
rarel y aecd to fcaaw saythiaf," be added
aaiv^.
"Kot med ta bnowr Sari gasped.
"Why shoidd we? We base every
thbtg «e aeed. aad a o tfa iag" — be paased
aad grope d for the m e an i n g be waated—
ai ^— . __ •»
UvQDKS WHm
''Bat." Sari erp l ofod . *how caa yoa.
staad It? I aouli go and with nothing
to dot."
"We pby Md we tlmik. That b
eSMOgh."
It was eaoagh. Graham aad Sari saw
ia the days that faiawed. It so u nded
stupid aad sdly. but it wasa't. There
.wam*t any oh jcetJ ve kit for the de-
•ceadaats ol rtM lost race to seek So
they played, aad they eaco ur agtd Jack
GrahM aad Roddy Sari to play with
thcniL But the Earthliags coaid aot
master the i ntrirarifs of the games. They
were doaisy aad they stmn bkd- Aad the
po sitf oa gna which Graham »ore coo-
staady got ia fab stay. And when the
inh a h i r a n ts were br^ of pb y iag aad
sritbdrew to thiak. the Earthhags coold
. dot bOow them at afl. For this «aa
jdoeoae by ooe. The broaaed yooths or
c^oafly Woared gbts umftf slipped
away from their coo ff ad es la stretch eat
oa the grass, stariag fixedly at nothing .
They did Mt srork. ytlxy sfaoold th^>
A pleasant -taitiag. strangely satbfyiag
fmit grew on the trees and tfos was aB
they ate. Sari mminrd the trees aad
the fruit and amttrrcd to himself aad
Hard eeplained that there was a per-
fect balance betwe en fond supply aad hs-
hihitsars Back ia the foag past afl that
had been plffuwvl Graham mattered
that everythiag secawd to have been
plannrd He <fid aot bice k.
N’ard had difcid ty in nadentaadiag
what they sraated la kaow, when Gra-
ham asked about go ter a aiea t. Goverw-
BMt? He £daT know what that was
—the idea of oae maa having power over
other OKO. Fiaafly be imd en t aod.
"There b an g ove n aat a t. Each owe
docs as he pkasea. Our fathers atrag*
a very loog tame that we Mttehe
imio v er wed. It was ooe of theb dr eams ."
OK OOB I BSVt QtSpOKSr
."Dbpoiea? Ko. We are ci va isciL
We are in t tfli g em ."
It itnidc Graham that thb sms the
perfect aaswer. Ia a truly iacrihgesa
cxvkitatioa there sroold be ao cause for
DAYS PASSED. Graham «sd Sari ^
tried la under ffaa d aad to panieipace.
but it sraa hard. Both of them looking
at the cky. the a nriewt cky i fee pi ag
peaoefufly in the yellow son Nard
had said that there were bhrarics there
— libraries where afl facts w ere gath-
ered.
A bttfe by a hexfe Graham aad Sari
realbcd that nostaigu was grow in g ow
them. Here sras heaven, but they had
bttfe ose for k. Here waa peace aad ia-
tcfligeace. but won aad amre often they
looked at the diy
They were Earthhags. aad bfe oa
rUGHT OP THB DAWN STAB
'Eanb was a
' were DM rtad]T far
p facc . Peace and
rtawacfc fao(
aand* and fanndredt o( thnntandt of
yrarv They were barteriant.
and Sari, ytamf bariariant oat of
eta. Off y ond er ,
was a newer foiar syncm. where tke Ibk
protle a i had not been aalerd. wh er e the
Ian apaoealap had not Bade ks fiaU
ffiffcc and amled hone forever.* And'
ycl daa atraofe pfanct on *which they
la nded waa a omcho w a dreM world, a
haven dandy a o m fe t ' —
They looked norc ofaan at the dty.
Nard canw to them. "Yon want 10(0
honw.** he atated ^aitdy.
"Lord, year Grahw akaoat aoUed.
MKl Sari nodded dowfy.
Wc DM MpM yOB pfOCT CD
aiay here. In tinie. we heievc wc csdd
tcaidi yon to hm k. B«berewcdaaa
it is yonr w> lo retnra
We w 9 (o to the dty."
said siri ' Ave kwt.
bntlhei
Hard led thea to a
a tanod. They tnraed and
Efhts Sashed on to h(ht their way and
ta m e d off after they had paiord
"My peopk." said Nard— wad there
was pri^ in the way he Mad it —
"pla«dadas."
They cane to a vast roons. Li(hts
w it ii frd on aroanad them. Down thaa
room were aisle after able of taUeOK
boarda co v er ed widi myriads of tiny bM>
"Thedb-
We can prpiect
yon iato hyper-space and hnri yea oat*
ward nl a s pee d wfent tl y (T ca e cr than
that of S(hL Bat there may he
ddh od ty m Imowin f wher e to atm
Spoce is so ht(e "
"Yoa tcB me " Graham
perrd, hot Sari spoke Sstly.
"It H not poaaAle to rcton
How can yea scltri oar aon from the in-
finite o m nb er of sons loM in spnoe?. Oar
smvmay be oat of vssioa cn t irtly ."
"CboK." Xard answered. "We shall
They wtse to the dty. It
above them, dream^ in the vank of
he a v en . They were aces — tfaejr were
less thsn ants cra n fa j( in the shadow df
the M a t te rhorn
"Here we wdl see if sm
vriseteto if nd yoiL
Sari faced him. "Do yea realise ^
yea are sayinf? Yoa are tdlm( os I
the aol u tao n of the PrnMtni of
Bodies it here. It it
GRAHAM
the
of ihrtel
there
IBC tVOMCDI JPDD tffVM 1
They vmre setkauf them
OBipcnBBJro iDCJr wPDH IMW IDB
System hqw to prc&t the hchamar
of more than two bodies.
too solved the proM em of
and of more than three
I order to fadfitaCe the
pff ^tWWI ATf fcw iftffl |h>C
bnSt a marimn to do the track for i
They were (teat oa 1
he added.
Sari took a deep breach,
c ea t e r s of y e ar s most base been a ( teat
S- •
DBDOIC-
"Perhaps they were. It b so di flic u h
to laww. from this dhrance. At any
rate, they had a t ri bi ri o ni
"Mow vriQ yea (hre me lome perti-
nent facts aho m year solar system. I
doobt if they inda d e d al the (acts ^boot
year system — if they ma p ped k at iff—
AST— I
M
ASTOUNDING SCIKNCE-PICTION
Wl thrr pmtaUv karw atoot roar tun,
■■d 6nrd it tato their machiae. If it
n a larx^ ttm. they d>d othenriae they
vcnld not hate ohtataed CMTrct aB « » ert
to their pexihleuit.
"^■hat (io rou tneaa hr perunest
facur
‘Weight, foe oete. Rate of raduxka.
far another. Tboae thtafi are part of
the proUem. and are capeoallr od-
portaat tl the tcnir l a tBoIrttl is very (reac.
Mce the «eifh( and the radiatmo rate
•hriak. Tane^ — time " Sard passed.
perplexed- “I had aJiaoM forjottea.”
be apolo(ucd. **T}ui machine has not
been ssed in a rery fang ’isic." He
pointed to the shadowy fra m ework in
the room.
Said mored a kner. The great frame-
work above them itarted me mn g. Gra-
ham and Sari stared at k.
**Yoa tee,** Sard e xplaine d as the
ira a aewoek shifted. **tliit is a w a wianT
re p e e a ent a rifici of the losoam ■n i w ct xe .
Ban when sre came in. it had not
Bsed for some thoosaasds of yean, and
the time factor had to be b roi a gfa t op M
date. The data yoti have on yoor aim
would not be correct for sercral tbots-
saod years ago. and the attachine would
never locate )oor sun foe oa.
*The people who baik thb m n rhmr
took an arintrary point in spooe far their
st ar tin g point. Tbry drew imaginary
hnrs dnrvbag space into four quadranta.
Thni they pfa^ all the stars where
they be fa ngfd at that m omexK. srith ma-
chinery to move them. The operator
can then fallow the wars t hr o u gh aQ
spare and all tanr. even to the end of
mne."
"How can that be?" Sari asked.
Sard rzptaiaed. Vibration and in-
terw event snbratfao. energy and ne ga t i v e
enrrp' Irveli Graham watched the
framework tom above them. He did
not bear the words. Sard was groping.
any how, trying to explain m pnmmve
ideas semrthmg that only a mathemati-
ciatt could graip. Graham sra t efaed the
fra m ework as it turned.
It stopped. "It has reached the pres-
ent." sa^ Sard.
He went down the tahlca. punching
bottOB*. feeding into the machmr the
fads Sari had given him. He pressed a
maaaer twitch. The hgfats went out
Graham heard his own voice cryiac
in the darkneaa. l a vo lum arily be ierked
the p oi itr oH gun from his bek.
OS A BLACK scree n m frout of
them appeared a tiny sun. a white-hot
fiaaang scm. For a second it looked like
— and during that second srild hope vras
in Graham's hmrt. and then be taw tbc-
thrcc tiny paints of lights m ov in g around
it. and be knew it was oM Sol
"Sot" he heard Sail whisper in the
darkness. "That is not our system."
"We wfl examine the term above
and bdow'it." Sard answered, tnanip-
iilafing the controls-
There was another sun framed in the
black vclm some h ow faoked
bhe space — aMf mtghc be space, for the
men who conid bihU this m n rb i ne m^ht
do that. too. But it was not Sol — ihm
svere no ptaneta. Sarf wh is pered in the
darkneaa and Kaed uh ti pe^ in reply
and there was another sun. bat there
were no plaoru around it esther. And
Graham knew bow it fek to have hope
die out. Earth — tmihag Mother Earth
—I vrai not return to yo u ev er — loe-
rver— ond forever.
There svere more whispers and more
ftaming points of light, and Graham
coukJ teH that Sard was perplexed and
m doubt and he w ondered why he did
not screen all the sunt in space, far that
war they svould sorely stumble on the
rigta one. But be kne w they had only
one B f etnnc in wfaiefa to do it. and gen-
eration after generation of men had la-
bored bo ikfin f this machine and patting
the Mms there. To show them afl would
take — be did not know how- many years.
There srrre so many stars.
PLIGHT OP THE DAWN STAR
SS
And Sard and the bctea came .
oo s^am. and Graham knew that Sard
had firen up. Why thould be ifiead a
bfrtimr iryinc to hrip two itraafera re-
turn home?
But wai talkic( acam to Sari,
aildnc him qaatkeu — aakinc him more
about the apace warp and bow it acted.
There was an odd perpknd bffat in
Sard** eyca. .\nd thn there was a *bia-
me bebt in fats eyes and the befaea in the
foccu wtre yoot
Graham could icel the ifaiftisf ^ the
{rarnrwork orer him aS time moved
aealn. as the factor eove min e dooe
bled in the darlmcas lor Sail and
pounded him oo the back and Sad was
hugi ne him and be was hugin e Sad.
Hr was a faartariaa and be be fa oeed
bade on that barbaric Earth, bade in that
barbaric afc. He had n e ver known faow
much he really {<eloo(rd there untd this
momen t .
And Sard had said that be could send
them back, that the retnr& would be easy,
that oedy the knowinc where to retnm
them had been ddhcnll '' ,
Home — borne afain ! His shout echoed
and reec h oe d throuefa the tni{faty vank
above.
shifted the framework that moved the
suns, and be knew that had
pasted. He stirred p ro te w i n gly and
Sard w b t spere d to him to be patiewt.
The mizmtes m oved into boors stil
the timr factor shifted. Aaditwaasud--
denfy very loBcfy in the vast room.
There was a sun ou the screes and
Sari eras co umi nt joyously— *’Stx —
seven— evcbi! It's the Solar System!
It’s tbere."
Graham beard faimscM sboutmc- Out
toward the edge of the s cr een we r e up -
mivTaka ble ag n the rings of Saturn!
The («e thing that menre had never
daphcaicd. And third om from the
Stm was — Earth!
Home Graham gulped and fum-
TH£ LIGHT caste on. and that was
.S'ard-hst he wasoT smis^ and his
eyes wertsT dsiaing.. either. Hit eyes
were tiittf and tnraed away aa
they watched.
Graham and Sari lonew that sowwthing
wi vroBi|^.
They leaped to the side of the bronze
youth, roughly turned him around, and
Graham f umb le d for his poiitroa gun.
Then they saw the drawn, p in ched look
on his faa. They r ele as ed him
- "Xard — yon dmi't mean — you dosT —
you can't bdp us r e tu rn? You said you
could.'*
Xard Idled his thorklerv— a g e sur e
strangriv Kanbly — and be shook his
bead.
ASTOUKDIKO SCIXUOt-FlCTION
n am tony. I OMit rcnmi yea. Yea *TlMa wel never — fct bon T Gra>
are airendy thm~ Imm'* vcicr was a nhtsper.
~Tbcrr r Graham pfcbkd. *Thndt 7 Nard thoofa hi* head.
ea Earth ! Yoo— this Mnagt | aacrf ai 'Nol I eooU send yoa throoch i^aor.
tare on harhark Earth? Nof" His bat not bade throofh timr. It is not
voice thu ndered- f w an b ie."
'Hbu b Earth. This b Earth — bat Graham fa f tr t d hb fan. d o o b dai.
more than a naBiaa yrars aher yoa left hrnr ss a . t r ifhttn t d. as Sard kd them
k. 1 shoald have l a wn ytw were oat at the dry. They were oat of the
Earth-sbed. Yoor bodies — a doeen t unwl The dty towered sky-bi(h
thinfs sfaooid have told me. Bat yoa above them, and they looked op at k.
■b tewinmn y mbkd nw into thinka»t 'Oor descendants— not exactly oars—
ahmn’dimace in space imtead of m fcot the drsceodanu of oar race, bchlt
tjme.” . that.** sasd Sari, and pride pew nroeif
"Bat ” Graham tried to say, attd in hb voice, and Graham beard the note
he saw Sari's face. Sooi e bow Sari on- of pride and finally anderstood. "Some-
ders too d- bow we slopped d of the work aiad ar>
^ -That warp." said Sad slowly. nwl at the (oal of osr dreambic. 1 can
- _ . . , , , , ___ . are it now. Back on Earth, we d ream ed
ii naif wp 90C DOC d codco . a • a
^ ^ y,.. .
2m -» j . k- , _ _ _ . . - a a DOnaTT inn WmBOUC CO*Q ““ ttOCO””" 1 DC
V BQTCQ, aoO VDCa TOD CMBt IflfOUn * a a n
acam. the scars had shifted mml m Isles— Phradise. Wcl. it is food
■ I ^ So low — that the race won throopj to
cP D wn I I ccucDttc Tfwwi. loa tnocuBi /T ^ ^
you bad been sUted m ^nee. YoThad rakzMxo of Os dreams,
been, of coarse, bat there are an bdnee SaH looked at Graham. Jack Graham
——»» »' of T*r « . of peanbie « hnd had fab pm on the poond. and one
Yoa mere w arp e d imo one srhere tame ky one he waa rcmoslac fab prmema,
had almmt stopped. Yoa took over the toaoinf ihcn\ carcksaly away, as ihooch
dme-rmc of the space where jpa were, be we al d never need them apm. And
and over a nJhrai yean paiaeil When I Kafd l o oked , and Sard smiled. And
rcwlitn'l locate year son, I mapected the Sari n ar t e d rtm ov inf fab dot hes . loo.
troth, and I set the t otar o h on oar tan They wa&zd over the ptea n ie ad ow a
and acne the time factor backward. There toward the shade of the friendly
b no doobt " trees
Sari looked at Graham. Jack Graham
hnd had fab pm on the poond. and one
by one he waa rtm es lx n fab prmenta,
Coatmf ihcB\ carcksaly away, as ihooch
be wc ^ n ev er need them apin. And
N^rd l o oked , and Sard smiled. And
Sari n ar t e d rem ov inf fab dot hes . loo.
They wafleed over the ptea n ie ad ow a
toward the shade of the friendly
m HODOS IN NEW MOVIE
fitVES STU PEEFOIMANCE
■AZOit
srrAR%]^
4for10'
n
SCIENCE-FICTION
A i N— rfi a g Im ib lii*. TW*‘i • r» w »«. tl m4 I Miiii:
ar liwr " I calciw-
baa. awit wl toy. ntJOL"
■at taaw «4i aat. liata tJkm coa, aarf ara aSag ta AU af iM latara^
9
“H* 4it4 a tfcowfrf y*tn
ht 'a mot demir The
9tatrr twfpt ti« cmrtaia mid*.
The MASTER ShaU
Not Die!
S9
Of the Man Who Dared Not Die
by
R. DeWltt Miller
JUJtcr wisbed nddoily tkM
expcneoce tbe thnc
It ««aid at ka«
r« Ide aa cad — if not a wataah^.
Urlat was bcjnood that door of dark-
ASTOUNDING SCISNCE-FICT'ION
acM toward w hi ch Tin^ h er ded all
other men? At the m o meta he did not
morh care. Hi* m tereat was halted to
a mild c o rio oi ty. His c o oc e ra with death
was merely a wearmeaa with Ide.
He was Dot a straafcr to that techof .
Often it had come to him dur ip f the
kofJy hoars when he hod <rv^^d ia
this room, if c km t to iate^Mt e the ewer
aHrccaa|deaacicacecdthe ««thl Hm
Was the okaome lone fa eM of a lat cd
ci c fM T nBrooooa ■ m vpns wotito to
m od mem c eici rash-
oiBt offais miod faces
■ ds reached oat far
sidrty fritiafi, ocaa*
He-prcased a hotter caDiaf his chief
atsisfint Whde he waked, the Master
strode to the w in dow and stood k w I ti nK
at the cky ootsade which Simc^ op ka
fiaat ccjoii l rtk y ioto the ccenin f nifhr.
Lewd after lerd of traffic bnea
stretched hdow him., Ob his own lewd
a (kp hodmc wm h^ pre s s e d to Ino*
& ^ cwe am f c r owd. Far across the
city he oodd make oat the tower of the
ccscral rocket W i tinn . ka f ifaolic pro-
jector arat poatiaf sqaatdy at the set-
Or «f*the stn
K PHI the focal
he had
they ralhd faialJy,
■s ia the way that me
falow thetm For
Aad there ano ao
I Om of Us
d i«aiB the idea
K OBher of his cx-
Ycs. he tboofM. mas had done wdL
He bad r td o ced the m a rhinr to ihwrry.
nC BBQ COO^QCfCQ ■■ CSTVOBBOK^^
except far the hm leaf jomp.
"Yoo tanf. Matter.'
*¥10. Hofahard. Is the dooor bercr
. 'He is wakit« oatade.'
'He hM been lo^ of coarse, tfam k
mens fiwidK op his hfe?' It alAys
m (Ik ilswjy that he
aomt ask dot saone <]acatioo ewery thirty
y e ar s. It wh hard s nmrtimrs to rr-
that aB the men ahoat him. sB
fW Miiitsats wd *** ^^^ ***^ dwifcd
la n cSoct to hrif his and hock
to the teoky of the Boomat. he gfmmrd
at hk hnds. They were deode^ the
hands of n OfikK Thiity years
before they had been nootk, e mp t for
the supple modefiac of p c i o tff al, aoca->
rme na is des. Now a c o ay lBi paOern
the wdirning flesh.
Once more the cyde had ran. It wh
time to turn back the phy i i ciofical dock
Sfda. For the br ai n that io le gr ated
iCKflOg PMK DOC DC HOmCa wf ID DHI
body; if the Master frew oU. he woaU
die. aad the thread C°>*^ hack ahnoot
lea c eS a tu ri es wooU he hraken.
That thread most not break now. It
WH to soon. If the Master died.
'Yes. Master. After the can nktre of
pfaywesmw hko. he was told ex-
ac^ nrfam WH ahead. He is etiidy
wflfa«tocml»ife.'
The Master ffid not tan from the
wHdow. His face WH kntofcae. the
lemma h^h^fat e d by the last of the
IT HAD COME afaio-the bmmM
ab u t be mast face the man whos e Sie
woold be traded far ha yoath. Ha
smad went back ower the loop fine of
gaBnt yoan( men arho had <Sdf that
the Maaer miefat be deathless. He
thopiht of their s tr oof . steady faca h
they bad offered their hwa on the akar
of flla*s inability to cope wrkh the ma-
chine. It STH not fair.
Hnhhard tensed the Master's somber
mood, and said softly. 'You hawe doee
a g t ai Too hawe sawed ^maa.'
THE MASTER SHALL HOT DIEI
41
The ymri tbook his bead.
**>Co. Hobtord. I didn'i do k. Tl^
did — aH tbot« im the oae srakiac
ootsidr. 'Ther their hm for me."
"Xot (or jtjo — lot tdextee."
~Tb(si it's up to science to pajr them
hack."
“But that cannot be done."
The Master did not answer. There
.was no adrasta^e in teflinc Hobhard.
It wooM ootf make troiAle. ABer a
long silence be r et ur ned to his desk,
"^end the donor in." be said
The yo u ng man who came into the
roorn sras a beautiful s p ecimen of phyv
kal drrelopsnenc. It seemed to the Mas-
ter that ea^ time the donor was ttrtaiger
and finrr.
‘I am ready. Master," the mia said
qnietlj.
The Master shook his bead.
"The operation wdl not be performed
nntil to-morrow. 1 wish to t^ to jran
first. I lave always done so."
"As you wtsh. Master."
The young man stood sriib hb head
thrown back, hb nassire shoulders re-
laxed.
The Master wo nd er e d if the man
would pr e fer to hare h oser at once
But there sras no way to find ouL For
a thousand sears the. Master's orders
had been final on all maners. That fact
sras ingrained into the people of the
irorld. For c e nt ur fe s it had not been
qsxstioned. They ac c ep te d the Master
as'a necessary part ofydieb hires — as
necevory as water or air.
They were free to quarrel amon g
the m w l ie s . so long as th^ did isot use
the weapons of science for destruction.
They CTwild change their forms of gor-
emnsmi. They could drsJ srith all mat-
ters except those conc er ning science and
the machine. That had been the deci-
sioa of the great meeting a thousand
years before.
The pohtical ^o s muiaiits were
guarded by the world-wride organbation
of scfeucbts from any action sbikh
would permit the machine to d es t r oy hu-
man happmrss — instead of increasing k.
A few tar» the polkkal leaders had
become arrogant. That arrog an ce had
been short bred. Scientssts knew Jsow
to make th eir decisions final But that
had been long ago. For c etu ur i e s there
had been peace and u nde r scandmg
among mesL
Abose the scientbts sras tbe Master.
He sras the focal point t o w ar d w h i c h all
the brancfscs of science fed. Throngh
hint tfify were cotnfamed foe a smgfe
purpose— the stdfarc of the hiunan race.
There had been hole trouble. Sck nCi ns
were thinkers: they un derstood tbe
necessity of a smgle intelliiccnce sr h itfa
cosdd nneangte then tronbles by seeing
an ioence instead of only one tele oor-
ner. It sras aU a matter of perspecdse —
the focal length of yonr mesnal ksa.
n.
THE MASTER reafiaed that Int
miod sras gosqg ba ck w a rd agasn. rrrirw-
iqg a past that no longer mattered. The
sray of scienoe was f orw ar d n ot bade.
He conceia r a ted fab atteac ion on the
man before hun
"Mint b your name?" he asked.
"Barrett N'orgard."
"Your profesiion?"
"Bio-chesabt."
A <|ueer h op efu l czpresasou B i rfcesl
across the face of the Master.
"Do you Imow anything about Dr.
Martefl's experimesas?"
"Yes." Norgard said srkh sodden in-
terest. "I studied srkh him for tsro
years."
The Master did not follow the lead.
Instead he looked steadily past N'orgard
at the tiacesrork of neo-tnbes l ighting
the cky outside. Finally he said: "I
know that the c nmm i nce has ini orm ed
you of the opeiatioo yon face, of the
42
ASTOUNDING SCISNCE-FICTION
faa tint joar Ue moat be rwfhMH« 4
far wKj ifootlk Bat they probabtf <bd
M( exphia the eica£» a rhnnnnrl yews
»fo vUcti led to the cre ad en of my
poHiioa in tbe new «.-i»netfW- worVl. Tbe
facts of that tresx e nn marin a were ooee
famihar to aB ■ci t atists . bat that was
kacaco. Mea (mxci. At pracot they
accept me wkfaoot tpxaboeiaf or seek'
■af to d ii co' w wky I cariit. They ac-
cept me as meeicabie. as the saow aad
w^ are iaevicable. They focfet that
I— or rather, my po sition ia the world —
was created by soea, for the use of mta.”
“1 know the s i t nse inn wc9 caoach to
appreci a t e the pan I base to pfay,**
Korprd said qcattiy. '^'hat a aB I
wish to Icaow."
"Yoo bare a rifht to kaow rrery-
tkiac." the Master repGed. “Yoo hare
reety riche to be told the exact c ima a-
stances by the oae xaa who was alrvc
at the daw it befwi. Therefore. I wiB
exptaia it to yott. It has been ary ens-
tom to do to to all the doaor s ."
He paDed his mia d away frocn tbe
pfaa which was takzac xacne ontline.
aad coocessrated on tbe Mary which be
had told so massy weary tim e s .
'Aboot the year 2500, men of scienoc
^s c oe er e d this k was impcwiible tor
mea in brief hsarsan fifednses to cope
wkh the marbinr By that tkae the
aiarh i ne had bcc t ea e so crenp l ex that k
bad ou t s tr i p p ed the knowf e de e which'
aay sksflo htornn beaks cotdd aaiasa in
one bfedase.
“Not only bad each siacle mach i ne
beoesnr k fconceis ably enny i rr . bat each
type of work kssolecd the ose of many
types of apporatss. Each apparatas had
ks own set of terhn i rian s. It was a
speenky reqtssrinc a Ide d ase of study
to imderstaad. Bat sense siafie per-
son most be able to coordinate aB tbe
diflrrcnt types of machitsrs Soefa a
person woold require c om plete kaowl*
cd{e ks aB the bclds of science. Soch
kaowledfe caold only be corned ia aaay
ordinary hfetasses. Tbe nand
was not hmked — bat the tkae to fesra
was.
"The rcsoh was that marhksft beyaa
to fail to p erform their ftedort Bat
b u m aa b es ny s had ks the meantkne be-
coose ac cuitocs ed to a hiyhty csriHacd
form of life. Comforts had rapidly be-
come accesskies, Men coold do loqyer
yo back to the older, cr u der way of
hfe. The s carcky of tbe more c o aspl ex
types of machnsery aad of men rapable
of openday them caased oarest aad
war. It had become a battle between
man and the madsme. wkh man on the
loiiry end.
*Tbe more adratsced of the scimtats
saw what had occ ur red- They called a
yreat aseeday of tbe best th i nk er s of
the race at Laecrae. Many methods of
sofaksy the problem were discassed. but
it aB exase back to the saase thiny. Tbe
aactayc maa’s hfedme was tea tinsri too
short. li tUB it.“
"S cira c e wiB solve even chat problem
soase day," Koryard said riowfy.
"Soose day. Always some day."
The Master stared at hb a y iay hands
"T'OITRE a buMheasMt.* be said
suddenly. "Ikl? da we yrow oUr
"Stat^ smyly." Noryud said, his
cyesaiiyfat wkh s adden
oryaa of the hianan body poiaoas
e v er y other oryaa. Waste prodocls
are thrown into tbe blood areanv
A oertaia am o it arc e lim i nated fraat
Use body — bat there b always a sasofl
resadoe. In thb way compoakioa of the
blood stream b sios^ dssnyed. At firto
ebb chsuy e merely inhddtt the yrowth
oTUse body aisd so caases aansrity. Bat
later the poboas ks Use blood stream
check Use rr placcHsm t of vrora-ooi tb-
stK. The body beyku to aye. Thb
cfaaaye of the chcsn i c al coasposkion of
the blood b fiaal aad kreversible."
“Yes." Use Master said slowly. "It
vras breversAle a Usoosaxsd. years aya.
THB MASTER SHAXX NOT DIBI
U
Tiat oae. treat profakn iricacc has aot
cooq u fTtd. It bu gooe araood it — bat
it has HOC con cu r rod iL Sornc e fau bean
taabfe to ioertase the fifcdme of aS BCB,
so k has made ooc man imcsortal and
used the lawfcdtc which a thousand
jrean of ennsrant stndj has ptaoed in fab
brain to control and in te tr tt e the ma* '
e fai oc .
“At the tre at c o o ren ti on I spoke of
a momen t afo. it was decided to con*
centrate scientific research on aa effort
to dbeorer a way to Icncthen tW arer*
aft hictime. I was then aa old bs n l o f iit
Worldfif akne the lae of reasonin(
;oa }tut ootlmed. 1 beg an experimenting
srkh methods of c hangin g the chrmira l
fTTffyiTfTyHTi <rf old
“Failicg in thb. I thongfat of siaiply
exchanging the entire blood in an old
person's body lor that of a jmaag per*
■on. Experimesns srith animais indi'
cated that it wo uld work.' I beo st gb t
my p ropo siti on before a c e mm s ttee of
scicHtuts . They a gree d to the experi-
ment. A yo im g man offered fab blood
lor the experimeat. Ify blood was ex-
changed ior hb. The operarinn was
sw oc asf ed. I b ecame fonng. Bat —
when my blood was pb^ m the body
of the donor, he died.
**1 <fessadod tfast the * he
stopped Yob cooidn'l tarn that data
loo s e It wotdd cau se srholcsale frwir d er *
(or WfM»d
na A ^ -
AimiKI |ICm DKCm^ 01 9CXBOJO
was called. Every other method of
r e ju s en a rinn had proved a Cadurc. V/ar.
disaster, and dc^ were s fsMrin g the
Earth. There wras no way bacly the re
was no hope imless the m a chine cocid
be bro u gh t tmder the cantrol of at least
one h uman brain.
“It wras decided to cr e ate the Master.
He would be su pre me in sB thmgs per-
taining to the machine. Hb blood
smuld be renewed every thirty years.
Hb Wain coold keep pace with the ad-
vance of tden ce . hb min d a l i ving nore-
hanse of knowledge. He would in-
tegrate the different fields of science.
He wonid cnotrol all fields of research
for the b enefit of man
"I was selected for the peat. The
order was bsoed to the governments of
the world. There was some dbsmisnn
The IT if milts used the powers of de-
^ ttructiun which they knew so wd to
make their order effective.
"A ge n eratio n wem by. another.
Men began to take me for granted.
Peace, plenty, and happin ess came agam
to the ^jjrld-”
“Bat why were no more men per-
mitted Co atay.yonng?“ Nbrgard iArd
“As 1 jnst nirmio H cd . the price was
too hi g h . The thing wo ul d get out of
hand The world wAdd again be
pMQpQ BSD W IOC WOO q .
One man, and one alone, coold be deatb-
ksa.“
“Bat a yodT r rprrirnrm eras known
to the world, why haanT it been di^B-
CBied? No laws arc str ong en oqgh to
p e t l en t men from seeking eternal
yooth." .
“Your pobt.“ the Master agreed, “b
w«Q taken. In fact, k wna huatgjht ^
at once at the great con v u jtion. If the
m et hod were uni vet i aBy known, the
. - - _a n an t. _ -■ • a
wofM wpon VC arows wwo ■■renjr.
But the anethod b not known."
“You mean that the trrhninne b
know n only to a few acsentbtsf*
“It b far more dos eJ y gnrded Ifami'
tfant. It b known to me alone. Yon
me. I haven't been the only iniririgBtnr
who fans attemp t ed to aceoen p li A re-
j ave nafinn by rhan g in g blood Many
edw r attempts have been tnade*— many
mote win be innfe and afl have faded
but mine."
“1 know." Norgard said bitterly. “I
fotmd that ont in my work. Al of a
■- ^ h. - J — ^ - n #- -
pcTwD m ppog onnof dc wbbq itocd
hb body or be dies iattandy. If the
oU blood b stcaddy rcpl^ wkh new.
4i ^ AStOUm^ptQ SCIKMCB-FICnON
tkm k boond to be m cemia aamunt
ti old blood in the final nbctarc. Tbat
caoia death -
->Ai’h 7 ?- the Master asked widi a
straafe aoderuoe td mraain f in hb
voice. "Death does not iaOow a normal
blood transimion.-
-la snch a transfnaioa.- Korxard re-
p&ed. -there b alnafs modi more o(
the person's own blood than that at the
doom. The peat mass o< orifinal blood
Deatrahiea the lorcicn cona i tucnts of
the new blood and beneh t rcsaks from
the increase of total hf mfulrdan But
when there b only a mail portaon of
orifinal blood k acts exactly as woold
the w ronf type of blood fi sen in a
transfmaoa. In other words, k b an*
ti fo n i gir to the new blood, raiis i n c k
to dot and brkifin f on death -
-I see.- the Matter said softly, "that
yon have learned a peat deal in year
chosen fidd. I am find of that. It b
not my enstom to d b easa snch matters
with a donor. In thb case I have bad
reasons ior vacationing
-I am happy. Matter, that I have
pleased yon.’'
-There b one more p oint. Yon spoke
a' mcnsm t ap> ahoot a ttranfe co n stku -
ent or essence of blood. What b thb
thmf wrhi^ yon ment io n so eaptdy?-
KORGARD nmled slowly. “1 wish
I knew. Blood b a snbtle thinf . We
hate analyxcd k in a thonsand ways.
We have fone down to the atoms w hi ch
comp os e k. Always semethinf has es-
caped ns." ^ .
-I tmderstand.- the '’Master said
softly. “I u nderst a nd, became 1, too.
hare himted tbat dnsire thinf. Bat
the- difference b that 1 fomd k— or,
rathrr. 1 (oend a way to fet arocoid k.“
Norfard spranf iorward.
"What b k? That b aS we need to
a m
Ukow.
"Tbat b the secret I
locked m my brain,
any man can fct k ont.-
ste sdi i y at Scrfird lor a
b tbat (act which created the
Men have tried in many
cowerk. They hare eren
n att der . Bat they hare
death woold cedy ckise my bps
Then the world wo ul d be
Master. The sknst i nn woold
than k was. a thnosand years afo.
There would be no one to mtepate the
science. Th^ nadneie woold srin.-
TMasier.- Korfard said softly. 'I
was thinkinf no snch tbooffats.-
The Msster mailed. "Yon mbtonk
me. I tmtt yon. My mind had fone
bnck to other men. A th o osan d years
b s lonf time.-
For a m o men t there was iJe iice in
the bole room. The wciffai of those ten
ce n t u rie s teemed to be a tan f kdr thinf
farrr tr srparatinf the Master front
other men.
As latt Korfard said. -Master, miy
I speak free l y ?-
-Of coarse. It b the least I can
offer yoo."
Thc Master was thaddnf swiftly.
Here at last sras a man able to throw
off the mpained idea that the Master’s
merest statement was nerer to be v^es-
tiooed. WeO. srfay not try hb pbn to-
niffat? There co n I d nerer be a better
assistant than the man before hkn.
-Do yon realue.- Korfard befsn
slowly, -that yonr dis c o rery b the ooe
thinf necessary to co m pl ete oar experi-
ments? By not iclbnf us, yoa are pre-
rentiof a possible solotion to the prob-
lem — a so tei o H which sronld pre eter-
nal youth to erery one.-
-You forfct, Korfard. ooe thinf. My
dis corery makes possible the chanpof
of old blood (or new. It cannot chanfe
the old blood into yonof blood.-
-But k b a lonf stepL Wkh that
The Master shook fab bend.
THE UASTEfi SHALL NOT DIBI
45
bepoaiac. omr pracot >ri g «i rt« miciit
do the rejt.”
“And it would &1I the world with ha-
man l am p t re s fifhtinf (or ercry joonf
pcTtoa’* blood. I hirt ju dg e d im a
•hwe tine. I know what tetnpttrio c u
they can stand — and what letiytitinoi
make them insatte beajts. And the
worM of as b the desire (or r en ew ed
yoodi.** He looked away. Hb words
were soddenly biter. “If a few o( them
knew what k b to be eternal ii a world
which death stiS roles;, they tuig fat be
more reasonable.''
N'orgard stood op. Hb p owe rfu l
body shot oat the liglu of the dty. Hb
soioe was stiS qoiet. Then I am ready.~
“Remember that the deebaon of the
coo a u ktee b not final The most phys*
icaSy fie of the yotmg identbts of thb
dty b always chosen as donor. Sd>
cnebts hare always been chosen, be-
caase they know best bow to dedicate
their Sres not to themsehrrs. bar to the
world. They coold probably find an-
other body as good as yosrs. Bat — if
errn the Master may speak (rankly — the
world win be poorer (or losing yoor
"I sroold prefer to be the donor my-
sdf. It woald^ bard, otherwbe. to
think of the one who most then take my
place."
“As yoa wbh. Bat thmk of ooe other
thsog. I aril not explain the tech ni q u e
now — bat for an boor my Ide and the
Gfe of crriHiatiaa srill be in yoor hands
Your cour age had better (ad now than
then.”
“I am ready. Matter."
“You can expect nothin g but death."
“I am rewly."
The Matter looked down at the desk.
Yes. he thoogfat. k sras a rotten way to
run a isorld. He spoke arithout looking
up.
“Meet me at my prfrste laboratory
at ten to-night."
IIL
FOR A (jOSG ItME after Sot-
gard had gone, the Master did not look
at the pile of reports and dispatches on
hb de^ ^^Tlen he did return to the
most ur g ent of the matters referred to
him. he worked arith only haH hb mind.
Rocket transportation to Europe had
been dbmpted by a mysteriws (orte
field w hich pulled the sh^ out of their
coarse. The Master caUed the North
E ur ope an atomic-CTadkiag plant on the
tel er tti on set and asked (or a s ched u le
of pcoAb0iob>
Thb r e se a led that an ineentnre tech-
nician bad ch an ged the generator tw o ku p
(or reasons of bcal e ffici e nc y. Thb, in
turn, had prsdneed an ener gy by-prod-
uct srhich i nter l cred orkh the wave
length on whic h the rockets operated.
The plaster orde r ed a r e tu rn to the old
hn o k^ . until techn i rians whi ch he db>
. patchri coedd find a way to cot off the
nndesired ware length.
Pbas (or b ui l din g a new (or
extracting basic minerab (rom sea wa-
ter were onmpfeted The site of the
station eras an bland in the l^eific.
SOBKtl U P^ cite q| ttlttid
struck the Master as s i g nificant .
1 1 - -1 I-- J - s a
nc cncocco cnfuupi m$ inanof/«
called (or the history of world rxcncs
fot a period three centuries before, dnd
dbcoscred a volcanic er ty doo on the
bbnd in q ues tion. The v n i rano was
now appateotly extinct, but a check on
cydes of s n l ran i r a c ti rit y in that regMO
showed a snsp i rinus threr-famsdred-yenr
cyde. The Master pot the matter aside
fot farther k yttj gation.
There was a ttraage ontbreak of in-
sanky among the people of Sonthem
Asia. The p syc faologbts srere baffied.
The Matter w eighed possA elk ics. Scene
mistake in eu ge n ics thirty jears ago?
Soenethiog w rong sHth the synthetic
food be i ng produced in that section, the
iochisioo of some a ppar e n tly barmlesa
i
ASTOUNDING SCISNCS-F1CTION
4 $
rt>fgi i c» l. tlai in comhinition with tocat
other hunfeM factor, earned brain <Je-
tdioration? Or pouihly those toper-
bi(h frt^oenc 7 ware* from the new type
radio p o w e r ttaikn in Onna? Some
d the worker* who had experimested
with that new power had gooe intanr.
The Matter called (or mformatioo
from tereral widely lepnratcd held*.
To-morrow he’d try to tmtan^le the
tbinf.
Somehow, all the work of science
teem e d pimy and int%nihcant compared
with what he would anwnpr that nifhe.
Or thoald he attemp t k?
He laid aside the rest of hb work and
fare his mind orer to tprealatioei-
)
PLEASING, shadowless radiance
Sooded the k«f. domed passafeway
w hi ch kd to the Master's prirate laho-
raiory. The Master looked at Norfard's
face. It was expressionless.
They waBnd on down the passafe. At
the end was a masatre door whose tar-
face fieamed arkfa the dnD kastcr of
my de nk e. the metal which' centtsries be-
fore had replaced stecL
The Majtrr led the way. He set the
ca m bi nsri oo of the dehcasc lode on tfatf
ra yd enk e door.
“No one enters my hboratory except
mysch and the doctors.'* be said to Nor*
fard.
As the last i wanhe r of the rrenhinati on
slipped into place, the great door slid
back. Ant e e mfi caDy the s ha dowiest
hffat hUed the larfe hboeatoey.
Ooe entire wall of the room was tmed
with obtoeif. casket-thaped cabinets.
The (root of each was concealed by a
cwrtaki on wrhiefa was printed a nomber.
"My cxplsnstian win be brief." the
Master sakL tratmf hkntdf at a desk
in the cesstcr of the room. “We cov-
ered most of the fenerml point* in the
daressioa thb afte rnoon."
Korfard tat epposk e the Master.
Even in the warm Effat hi* face wras
whke and barth. He reach ed jerkily
into bia pock e t.
"May 1 smoker
"Of coarse. If there b any other
Iktie thiof — some one yoa vrbh to tee?
There b moch timel A few hoars' dc-
by win not matter."
Norfard smoked hb eifarette alowfy.
At last hb bps moved, vfhe words were
tondess. ahnott a rknsL
"I am ready. Master."
The Master shroffed.
"As we ift e ed thb afternoon." be be-
fan. "the trouble has been the insbilxy
of science to drain aU the blood from
a person's body wkhoot caatinf death.
In fact, science has fiven op that apfic
and c o ncentr ated oo metb^s of per-
forminf a c o ntkiuow a transfosion.
"However. I did not ncflect that pot-
skahty. I fate np diorta to ch n n f e
the mmpn s kio n ^ oU Uood. and coo-
centmed on a method of er tadn f ma-
pended anknatioo d nr iof the period be-
tween the time that the last of the old
blood was drained away and the first
of the new s obs tka t e d.
"A thoosand year* afo I dboavered
a method to aooompfidt thb. It b that
se cre t which pr e ven ts the world from
duplkati nf my experiments."
"Lord." Nocfard said, with a sodden
c au ffat breath, "we've been w orkiaf
from the wroof end an the time."
"Exactly — bat abo. (oc T i m i triy . The
day any s cientis t snoo u rtres 'a meth od
of maldnf a complete tr ansfosio a of
blood— driluatioa wkl end in a war
(or youDf blood."
The Master stepped to the end of the
hne of metal nhbicra. He threw back
the curtain The fbss-cove r ed boat was
empty. Swiftly he attached two cable*
to el ec tr ode* which pcotroded from the
box.
Goiof to an intricate hookup of fleam-
inf coodenser* and tube*, he threw srv-
THE MASTER SHALL NOT DIEI
41
enl tviidies. Getenton <leep vkhin
the creat huihlim whined tfaril >7 as they
tooic the load.
Soddenl^ the ictenor of the empty
cabinet be^an to (low with pale, lam be n t
fiaoxa. Sfawty the Master advanced the
coexrol of the c en tr al rheostat. In re-
spoose. the tadiridisal flatnrs wichia the
casket coalesced into a sinfle sheet of
radiaacr. Swiftly the cslor c han g e d
from rose to porple. to violet, then grad-
uafiy laded to a faint iride scen t mist.
THE MASTER ent the pow.' The
scream of the dy nam os died to a faint
steady pur — but the iriilr scent mist re-
saajtM in the tahinet
'Hltat'' cabipet.'' the Master said
softly. **is now charged with what 1
term hff nra l st iom. In a m o men t k
•riU be )tMT tomb of bring death "
He looked sharply at Noegard. hot the
young nan's face was sdll set Met white
stoex. The Master r e tur ned to hb ex*
plifatory lone.
**My originai ida isaa that k b a
f Tealawn t a l misfalre to ennsidrr the
barb of bie as chem i ca l ^ It b electrkal.
or rather, radsonc tr re.*'
"Bm what has that to do wkh sus-
pended inknarinor
"Everything. To nispeod hie you
matt not only msprod chrm i ca i actsvity,
but ks r adin a rri vky as wtfl. If tk
chemical factor b not su spended , decay
oocurs; if the t adkacti re b not sn»-
pnsdrd. the vital farce, or what might
cr u dely be called life atom poteraial.
goes back into the vreS Irom whi ch k
came. Life will never retnrn to sneh
an organism— the spark b gooe."
He- strode to the cabinet containing
the gV/wing mist and tapped the glass
c o v er.
"In here I have created a r ad i n a cti re
jnvwlsiof which wdl prevent the life po>
tentbb from esca pi n g from any organ-
ism. At the tame time, cheuaca l decay b
stappe d . A ny t hi ng bathed in that radio-
active fiefd b c o m pl etel y sterfle."
"But win the field remain in that
cabinetr
The Master smiled slowly.
"Those are not ordinary mydooke
boxes, akhough they appear to be. The
walb are double. Wkhin them b
created an eiectro-magnetk charge
wfaiefa prevents the escape of the radio-
active field. ^
"I do not imend to give yon the tech-
nical details. It took ten ordinary fafe-
tknes lor me to per f ect k. OriginaBy.
the field *bd to be constantly mvin
tained."
He reseated hkmelf opposite Kor*
gard. "Stated simply." he mid. "I have
trapped the hmnaa aura. Radsnm g iv es
oS a vbable aura; the human body also
g ive s off an aura, but k b vb&lc csily
under cer t i w rare cotsdk i ooi That has
been known foe centuries. But the
specblbatioa of the branches of t esener
prev en t ed those two facts being con-
nected. So no one taw the poisC that
the hnman am was only the emma-
tiotts bom the aobde ra i lio a tt is ky of
the life ioece."
"But why," Noegard ashed. *ls k
ncocasatyfo seal yosw radioactive fief^
when s ni pe n d e d mim i rinn b oaly mec-
cssary d ari ng the period of the trans-
fution?"
"Becansr," the Master, said slowly, "f
wan t e d to give the men who have offered
their lives far icknce a chance to get
them bade."
He stepped to the nearest cihrnet and
slid bade the certain, fn the cabinet
was the nnde farm of a pow erfu l young
man. About him swkled the same
u s d e sce nt mbt.
Noegard st e pprf back wkh a waVVn
cry.
"Is that the last donor?"
"Eaactly. And there, in that tank
beside Um. b the blood from my body
! If ;h i I ! '
m • ASTOUNDING SCIENCK-FICnON
"Bat a fcf not kt ^ St and
have it owtf wkhT"
“As far as hb cssadoasnaa is coo* .
cerned. be is deadL He loses octbinc.
Boi — he cains the rtanre of rnuiaio K
to Kfe, 2 acseoce erer per f ec ts a way
to fhame the oU blood in the cabinet
to yosBC-'’
"Bat scien ce can nerer do that.'* I
The Master's «osk was bard. bidn(.
"It is not (or yo w or any man — to
IV.
NOSCAKD stood bewildered (or a
The Master coaU set tm
[ fli ag b e tw een disafreesaent
L 8«Tained idea of the laaaao
he Master’s word was fioaL
Ptndy. Master. How it the
imply. I step into an empty
k'oa then create the lifeAn*
eU I jmti described. The
mped oat of my body tfaroofh
h p i er c e the cabinet walL
B set the tkne dock on the
r the period of one hoar, and
le rabrnrt neat to mine. Yoo
with yoa the tank c arryin p
Afmr anonhttiiirip one arm.
oe wiecl the tubes nmnm( to
to a vein under yoor elbow.
. yoa win dose yoor cabinet
tte switch srhiefa wB p u mp
fran yoor body into mine.*
; same time create the held
a.
the boor b orcr, the tine
open my cabinet, thereby
e ra£onctr*e held and retore*
life. As yoa see, thb method
cry centimeter of blood in my
, a m
"I snB now tfse yoa drtailrd instrac**
tiena cos erkf each part of the pfoce*
dare."
With minnte care the Master went
over each step. He did not explain the
theoretical op rrarin n and ir i
any of the marhinrs Those b ei ooced m
the rcakn of saper-iatecrated scienoc.
which was known ooly to the Master.
RaaSy, they rehearsed the trrhn i q o e .
When the Master decided that Nor*
card's q ni dc miod oaderstood each de-
tail. be stopped sad ht another dfarcttc.
He sat a looc time qoietJy. The
KTmkr drifted op ioto the dear, motion*
less ab of the roo& Hb mind was
makinca hnal review of the possihdkics.
If he xnt to make the ex pe r im en t — it
nmst be done now. If he stepped into
the cabinet and f*** Norcard the tif*
nal to beem the operadon. it xronld be
a nother thirty years before he c o ul d try
acam. «
Bat he miefat du c o xr r final and dc£*
nke proof of hb theory d ur iof those
t hirty years. He s hr op e d aside po*>
ssbihly. It bod always been the rsmt
thb hopsne that the next time hb proof
sronld he perfect. A pood many njfan
p eopl e d i ed durinc each of those thirty
years. *Emh time he debyed. thew hope
of yonih eras sha tte r ed. It srasn^ fab.
It wasn't fsb to them or to hinweli —
the manortabty — bobted Master. Bat
it did no food to tfawde abont h. There
was oidy one sray to answer the ipses-
tkm.
A sravc of the old Inorhnrss surct'i '
over him. If only he conld cterml
yondi to all men There was no
f reedom fee the bonan race «mtd it con-
tjQcred drathi
He stood op. Hb face was steady
with the calm strenp h that had rolcd
the scbm i ftc srarld ten c e nt ur ie s. Hb
t|aict voice seemed lo nwh ow too bic for
tlK r oom .
"Norcard. 1 told yon thb aftenmon
that yon conld expect nnthm e bat death.
Yoa have accepted that statement xrich
a(e BK » a CR* *t I
af tke wari d . TWrc
bat 1 hadoec^
decided oai
ter.^ I hare now.
#
’’Snec the begb
nbg of thb
cycle which has ■
ode an aan
have had a dream.
It was a di
dnaHL .Thtr d ofc. I laid ao ooe. I
««ricrd ia weey hboc ato cy. I failed. I
faicd ^aia Md ^a»— faow aaay tncs
I do Mt kaov. Ten c ea t a ri ee of aqr
Bwnory are te ant red arkh the raiaa
aadi h o pe ! Ahaoat a haadratt years
"Bat." aaaicsad Nacgard. *V>* «aa
k dcae? WlM data Inc «c am-
loohedr
"None. Yoa did as ad at oedbary
ava coold ia brief ifadaKS. Bat death
cat yaa short. It st e pped yaor .re*
seai e hea jab as they were besiaaaif to
bear a EA fnaL Yea coald at aaob
he coapleltly inSar with oa^ a fev
of the oooBtleaB d i ri si oet of acstaoe.
Year rtasj ^h ti arter got oat of their
inSar cMea. becaoK yoa loded the
penpectna of time. Whb. ior a^
staooe, do yoa befiese is the rehtioath^
~I trailed. I hoped that way proof
a^ght be fiaaL Last week 1 arb s e se d
- a I a. -f J .•__aa _ a .• _
WMi I DUKVCII ICKDCBaj CSDQBIIVC
peoofL ToH^gfat my dreraa aay carae
trae. U it does, aekher >aa aer ny
baraaa beiog aeed cser grow old agaia."
FOR A LO.se TIME Korgvd <fid
aot raoae.. Whea at hat he mdm, his .
thityr
"I doo'l see my.” Korgard ded^ed.
-It's Be try^ la fad a frhtfndih
tat w eea aqr ci g aret t e aod coaade lays.^
-Aad yet,” the Master and dnriy, ‘^he
af Eves io the
year 3IOa- *
-VilMt do yoa
to ks body. That rat thoald have dhd
of aid age. By evtsy chedk k is aow
* nha 1— I woa\ Bae la be sealed
ia a Eeiag death io oae of those bases?”
If we succe e d te-aigb^ the
the Earth. Aad— thsafc Heavtw— the
office of the Maser sd pass arkh k.”
Mis words were wsMeiily lapML paa*
to go oo Eviog whea rstryTbiag yoa
ralaedies? To bww that every haaaa
bckig to whora you becone attached sriQ
wither and die. while yoa tcraaia age*
fcoas mtaia types of heart disease
■ner heard of k'efptmmtiy. Be
b miy aatsaL u c oo c eras ho
^ • M - - ■ O* - - a * -a ^
BB8 OlKQf^p BOOB OC
are oataide of yoar field of rpec
He t am ed abraptly as
at the yooog ana m the
ia the gloa i a g base.
AST— 4
*I aae.” Xorgard Mid slowly. Igot
OBij pW Qm iDC pKCVC.
”Ezaetly. The focal Icogih of yoar
■nasal kos b too short. The fecal
length of awoe b a thrwnaa d years.
Fiom dn teMx tin whole tbb« he-
gios to fit together. It took data froM
al of Spence fee an to dbcooer that
— s A — A A — ^ ■*— A — - a - — — - a
OH UOOQ OOCl bOC OBBO V OB CXSIfBS
checacally— bat recharged Mbatont*
kslly.”
”Bat the cfaeadcal roayMfin o docs
dn^ wkh^”
TW Masttr stood itosom tor lomg seeoads. The rot wss
thsa that, a tbomsaad ytors ot t€ort sad hops wt
"Yo.” die lUsicr replied. "Bai” —
far c yjrped a nsfl d o o r ond faodcoood
Norfvd to (allow — took tfais to do
it."
V.
THE ROOM wu >nnmrf widi ap>
pontei froa a fa u o d^ differett tci*
or dinar y mao — to tmdmtaod. The re-
«ok ol a t fa iKmorf years ol tdeaoc. in
memrlrss app ar ently unr e la ted fields, b
in tbo fooQL*
He ' ste ppe d qnickly am ong the
crowded appontna, and be ought out a
aoaal c or tr ed cafe. **Aiid tfais.' he said
qoietly, **is the proof that wkfa so&>
- ASTOUNDDfO SCISNCS-PICTIOM
**Of coarse. Bat that b the effect,
not the canse. Rech ar ge the hie atoms
tfaoa arc the basb of blood, and the
thr i w i nl nnbahrire wdl readjast itsrif,"
“Yon'oe done that?'
Only m few of the h ta s dr e ds of
eats cou l d Norfvd eren name.
'Yon aee.' the Master said slowly.
*Taow hnprifsa it b for you— or any
THZ UASTKK SHALL MOT DISf
SI
dat pcnpectivr. tdete ob cvm cob*
dd aft atd Baton! doth.**
CaxtiaDy piadaf ibe cafe on a table,
ke rc B ion d the cover. The pale glow
of tk mSna l«fat aoUy iftoionittd
the interior.
The par of the d ywimn a far h cnr a rii
then aeeBKd anddenij bod. The room
orkfa iu weird c oO ecti cn of a ppa ratm
wao&Dedwithaaxxfckvpreaenoe. The
laBg roan of tahe a . g anf ea , Imiainnn
m. and nimhwin ka^ at the two
BMB. The great god of the a a rti in c
waa there langhiag froaa aB»i^>l>ia hoB>
Far in the hexie cage the rat laj
bferacd aral oMCioBleaa.
niayhc thcre'a atane ■dttihr Codd
it have fied fraoi sobk other cook?
Yob haaw ih« it lived a
dMT the opoatioB. Md that it
The Ifatter’a body dro op e d with
Hk voice woa an>
der . hot k waa lac a^
"Nok They ahnya died that way —
that aaae Ileaeed. congeated appearanotL
Beavdei k oeaUalc have died froBi any
ether c a aa e . It had no pfayiical defect.
I eTaitii i ifd k befor e the operadeo. Jti
diet has been regolated. Even the at-
- a. • . a. . • j m
■OipnCrC M IfiC m IKfiBSBftv
diart.
’There iaalt awy other paaaAk aa*
awer. 1 r ec har g e d (he life pcamtial of
the Uood. hat k waatT p cn i cBL The
rhinge waa oaly miiifiiiil"
"B«b it yon are that doae. avely yon
wdl aooB anooeed.”
The UbJtcr.did aoc aapver. He led
the way back aco the other room. A1
the vitality a eem e d to have been aB thrd
ont of fas body. At bs he said: ’Tve
UiOBghc that, (no prrtiipi a h na dr ed
(knea. Always k waa ahiwaf Thia
tone I waa certaka. I had done ev er y-
nOf](VQS HOC MQODC hB SB
taMoLTlKfe of mrhroan fchaed
0 B( of fata eyes. Whea he spoke, k waa
agaki aa if he were r e cki a g his part ia
aoBie rkiaL
”1 un rea dy. Maater.**
The Harter Maaclaakap^ Hewaa
not (hialciag of Kotgud. aar of (hr
tntted OB the rat whack Iqr lod ia Sk
k go pa? Aaotfaer t h ir t y ycai^ A»>
atteontaiy? CaafdhaibHbralt^***
been aa the wraag track?
potoAie. There
hproof. Ndctherei
SLO WLY a dcciaaa waa talang in
in hiT aaod. There waa oae ai^ to
settle the natter— oaly one. Pci hapa
Kaigvd had hcea r%ht ahoat the rat
dytog froBi aoatc orher caaae.
AM snddcaly the htorH a raa ooidd no
leager he coatraled. The experiasat
did net natter, a othiag B att ere d hot the
cha ac e for cacape fran the sofaboa of
deathleasKsa. Evea if* he £ed ia
Moa ted agony Mce the rat, k annld he
better than facing another thirty years
af i maacctafity.
AbmpeJy he looked up. "No, Nor-
IZ
ASTOUNDING SCZSNCE-FICTION
CW.~ hr raid ttMy. 'Voa art M fo-
M. hfl that la« rahnrt. Either that
horror is o*er — or the Master is orer."
**Yoa mean rrxt’rr {oiaf to trr the
rxprrimrat aaroar?~
’‘Eaactly. It (ailrd ca a rat It may
Mocnd oo a man I «nfl make a few
shfht chances n the irrhiuqur. Then
-I «ri0 make the es p e nm ent “
Korfard anled tolUy.
"Very well But «hote blood will
yoo place m aty hod; “ Hr {iaaerd
tmnjd the jow ol caboiru. ~I suppoae
yon can use theirs*'
The Master shook hirlwad.
"No, we will eapmnrm oo my body
— wot yooTs You writ rewsene wiy
bkaud. rerhaiie k. aad retnm a to my
body “
Sorcard spraae lorward.
"You caa'i! iJui't ywu see' If the
esprtwncat fails you will dse. Where
will the world be thra?^
"You forfet that you are spealdnc to
the Master.**
Vorjard’s roite was hard.
“.\nd you tercel that there is_ one
thw>c wtuefa the Master caanot do— ^take
his WWW bfe.~
~T>»‘| you thiak I know that?^ The
Master's voice was charced wah a stiac-
tnf hateniess' "That fact has beea
wah me day aad nacht foe a thomaad
years. My hie has been cuarded as
notl'.mc else oo this plaact. Aad the
wTitld has conlr to think of me as a port
of as machmrry. They kaect that I
aan a maa.**
~Yuu are mat a man. You are— the
Maurr. Aad — you hase do nchc to do
a. Master.**
“It's my hfe. Xoryard. Vow caa*t
cel arnmsd that fact. Eren the taw of
ihn rnimtry alknrs a maa to do with
has Me as he sees fit. That hw is older
than the Master. It is as old as hie
hsefi."
~Hol a ao'l your hfe. It b the ide
of those thtny. Aad the taw iorhids
■airder — you would be kdiioc cmKza*
**1 ain sorry, Sorcard. but I*m post
cariaf. It way be that toan caa neve r
beat the wuchsar. It may be that he
win find some new soiotioa if the Mas-
ter b removed. I saoply know that t
refuse to face another thiny years in
a world that dies about me.
**1 do aot expect you to uadcruaad.
The experieacr of beinc immneta] m a
mortal world b somrthinc which I hope
DO human brain wiD ever hase acam.**
He paused- With an rdort. he broucM
hb voice under coairot. "We will now
proceed with the experbaent.
NORG.\RD*S voire was pleadmc-
"IVase. Master. R em ember it it wot
yosw hft.'
The Master did aot seem to have
heard him. He turned aad started iato
the sasaBer laboratory. At the door
he st opped. Hb voice was cold, preebe.
"N'orcard. I wiD now explain to you .
my oKthod of re|uTenatJac blood. I
wriO then ifgl mritU in oise of thewr
caakets. fHi wil] r em ov e my blood.
rejavesHte k. aad return k to my body.
Sorfard sprang forward. Hb bic
hands crasped the Master's sh o ul d e rs,
the fiacers dicZ^ ftesh.
“No— I teCI you — c»P
The Master’s vobe was still toaelesa.
"If you persbl m thb attknde. 1 wdl
have you scssi to the prboa camp ori
the Moon and have the cocmnutec ap-
pone ADocKtt tiooor.^
"Master, yuu will not perform the
expf rincBC..
The Master yerked loose from N*or-
Card's crip aad turned to a savall trie-
vision seL He snapped a Irrrr. Huh-
bard's face showed oo the screen. The
Master spoke quietly.
"CaS the com mi ttee of scientists aad
the eky anthorkies. Tell them—"
THK MASTBS tHAlX MOT DIXI
sx
The Mmut’s voice topped t hr u p d y .
Hi* bodr^tlaBiped *c*iMt the wall aiid
•ikfaercd to the floor.
Serx»*d atood above hiao, itill faold-
iwg the heavy jwwthlor he had pichcd
op from the hcnch. Slowly he hack
h e ri de the iwert (arm o< the ooe aaa
who could fuard axa fataa the ooa*
chaoe. A cwift evaminatiou w ad e *are
that the blow from the iaaulaior had
act harmed the Master, b c y oud a pea*
tibk
Havinf faiidavl his e iM^nati ou. he
h ntatd and (afifed tSe uufo o sci oQ * tn a n
Then he sealed hi ai icM at the oeacral
table aad scared at the loaf row <d
rahinru.
- The hoaxer oi the t el evidc u set
* w a> d e d sharply. Norfard fot up and
creased to the scree n . Hnbhard's fran-
tic (ace flashed into view in t ir trli nf
“You called. Master. What am I to
tefl the r i anwwtir e " ^
Korfard col him off. MidKnf hi*
vewce srith the hack of hit hand, he
spoke without mapp i nf oo hi* end of
the t ek v iti ou *eL
“Sorry. Hnhhnrd. It era* a mi*nke.
I tfaoofhc the central power plant was
wcalceninf -^^ouldn t fet t iMWf t i power.
I locmd where the fe*a was. IT call
afaia if 1 need you."
Habfaard'i face stared twcertawly for
a HKjnw n t , FauOy he said obe di ently.
"Yes. Master."
The screen went dark.
Norfard tensed away atsd went into
the saoaBcr laboratory. He stood a lon(
twnc lookiof at the bloated body of the
rat srithin its little cafe. Then be re-
tonsed to the outer room.
He drew hack the mrtain* fraea aH
the cahsneu aad leudied the tca tar c* of
the yoswf men wkhia their iri d e s c ent
tombs. At last be sat down at the taW
and smoked aaother eifarene.
The hif ch fo oouseter on the wall
sliced off the srmnda. The ttywawsns -
p u r red steadily.
Barrett Socjprd finkhrd his cif ar etae
VL
SLOUXY the blsdmes* a the Mas-
ter's hraiu became fray. Gradual^ the
fraynesa. chacfed to the hfht of fal
csuaciousness. The Master f l an ced
about, moved. Hb mind arms sr irehinf
for the piece of the jifsaw puzxie of
thouffac sriaefa would make the eaeperi-
CBCcs of the last few minute* uho k.
hLb bead ached dnOy. but be sc ar c el y
noticed k. Sonsetbiaf of far greater
impor ta nce sn* s sirg iog within him. He
looked at hb worn, wrinkled hands.
Already the flesh was fllhng out. be-
coming firm and yo tw g. He fdt the
pound of new vitalicy tfarobfamg in his
body.
It was not a new smwrinn , • He hnd
fek k many times befoee— once every
thirty years.
Only thb time there was socne vague
fifferoKe— Chat one wisri ng piece of
D30Q|kDCw
it hack^^ws oonver-
sarion wkfa Xorgard — hb turai nf on the
trievisHn set'^^khen hlackncss.
The Master tfamat open the gfaasdaor
of fab *"■****-* A pr uuonk aon of dis>
aster screamed throi^ fats farabL With
the spring of aaiicfes ret urni ng to yooth
and vkafaty. be stepped to the end cabi-
net and lore h^ t^ curtain.
W'khm s w ir le d the haninows aabt.
scintillacjDg srkh a daiilktg iralrido s c o pe
of color. Bat the Master did not see
the mist. He did not hear the buxa of
the tel ev bi en set.
He taw only the face of Barrett Nor-
gard. Straight aad powerf ul the young
man stood there, a quiet smile froaen ou
hb motiooless features.
The Master's door of escape from
deathlcsaness was shut now.
Irony crushed in on him. Barrett
Norgard wanted hfe- Aad be had given
$4
ASTOUNDINO SCIKNCS-FICTIOM
It op. The Uajter vmcd rVith mH
be had ctcml ble.
Badmnb — th*t was k. The whol e
world wu backwards. The booaaa race
create d marhinrt . aad then the Hte c hinc s
made sbves ol their balden. In a obs*
w er s e that was t i mrlru . nma atmtted
abnot lor brief sprrfci of time« followed
forcm bf the ioexorahle shado w of
s n a nuict . atsd dajrt. aad y e ars . Aad in
that time spaa between btabbennc' baby-
hood aad dtsantcfratioa he Taciflated b^
tween a beadal love of strife aad a stupid
1 Uke fooissh ideahsm of
the y omaf maa in the rahinct
It was a doll, bope l e s a pine ; a fame
that oqffat to cad. Well, let k. He
cooldn'k be e xp e cted to keep k foiof
sipffc haa ded throofh e terak y.
Ha aasod swept down the vista of the
next three decades. His friends wro ul d
St. The men aad sroosea with whom
t. - a. - • - *- ■ -a a * . * . - -« J
DC ^DO BD|[aea nic 9My dcjocv woon
cccB oM t^cBocrov. He (^CDccd once
CBOfc St bn ImmIc. Alrccdjr )iT!srf wc
toot Croca tfa cm . lo s week they woold
be the hands of a nssa of twenty-five, aa
y o im f aad powe r f u l as those of Kor-
fird.
Bat his mind sroolda’t flow yotmf.
Yon oonUn't tarn back the cfq|k ^ con-
irinonirsi His brain was sdH old. a
thiwiwnd years olrl and very txsed.
There was a way to stop this iomne
mockery. Swiftly a decisiao was takiof
shape so his mio^
He had bat to step back kao that
empty cabinet, connect the tubes to bis
arm. cat the co n n ect inm . aad throw the
swkeh. His blood woold be pouped
from hb body aad form a fatde bole
poddle on the floor. The twirbnf mist
of oblivion would close around him.
aohinf all pr ob l ems His body woold
fill the last empty cabinet.
Swiftly, he lamed to (he borrinf tele-
vtsioo set. His voice was brief, crisp.
"Stop botheriof me. IH call you
when I need you."
BUT HE would never c^ Evmtw-
aly they woold break into the bbora-
to^. Bat that woolda't do any good.
The sonae of a pp a r atus wo u ld be mcass-
■Bfleaa to the tccfaiirims, r a cli chamed
to his own bale field of s cimee .
They oobUb'I do any tfainf. They
could joae me at fats face so the gleam-
iog waidr He would be tmiliag. as Nor-
gird was sndSng— only for a diflerent
For a few m i naes be busied hi ms elf
tfaehosei. On a sodden kapabe be sreot
ioco ithf snaQcr faibomocy iod stood
IwAing as the dead raL
The bole room sermr d fall of his hope
aad faiure dsir ing the m i l l enniu m he had
stru g g led there. Struggled to create a
super icic D ce — that had adueved the
magnifiexnt rank of IdSing a rat.
It wasn't any use. He had tried
e v er y thi ng — r i trphim§. AS the accu-
mulated sdeuc c of a t h o osMs d years had
gone kno that kit experiment. Ferfaaps.
after aO. there were some things that
man's science could never solve.
The mlhpsr of his hope drained his
faith ID the expetimenL He saw now
that the death of the rat bad been coa-
d nsi v c. If he tried k on h i nweW . be
wo uld only die m hkwied torture, m-
stead of slipping UMtautly imo ob li vi o n
wkh the cfick of a tw k efa.
He turned Qukl i l y- aad terode ssto
the other room. It waa a fittisg thing
be was about to do much better than
merely deteroying birascIL Let the sei-
enti s ti try to figure out what fc was aO
shoot. Le* them try 10 understand what
hard gone wrong awf why he should
lock himself ia aa iri d e scent vapor —
aad why he should smde.
Aa he pa sard his desk, a snsp of
whke caught fab eye. He paused,
then went on. He waa no kqger io-
t ercste d in any mf or asirio n a sbp of pa-
per might be able to convey. He vras
weary of reports, aad data, iod statistics
THE HASTES SHALL NOT DIEI
tbe panpfacnaSk of fao-
BHIft SCXfiC^K
B«i fan xamd woMa\ kt fo oC the
pKcc pfepcT* Me ***""**"^**4 tint fan
K*_f1 *- -■ - A > ■ - ^ ti-a A ^
W hM QCKB CKATW DC OlB OCCIl
taJkiBc to Narfsrd. Carioaty pofled
bin bock. He picked op Ike paper. Tbe
brief words stared op at hsm. h took
biai a m oe nrot to force bis aaed to axet
ibeiB balhraj.
K*a said *7 irar sasr skartjsrsr.
Oaai'l /aryr* Ibaf pswv ir,.lM. A
IbMuaad pMrs it em iutmt m tk*
ittt im y tf mm. Tit* dnisti mil br
•a aw adba you fet wt* out ofJkit
dmm*4 box. Yom't far /rsnr 4*od
rots. BAiazTT Nokaib.
Tbe Master of tbe sdeace of tbe
world stood amrirsilm ia tbe ce at er of
tbe sreat hboratory. Hia atr oop pocaif
baads avnpled tbp hit of paper.
Back word of tbe scr m wled acaacnoes
scared kadf iaio tbe d^lbs of bis braia.
Over sad ever ap** ^ aaad repealed:
a timuomi ytmt — tHO too tk or l foemt.
***- » - ■ - ■ a -a A A A
diomy DC cronea inc raoDi ana mu
tbe aan seailiBf froa bis it ip f Armott
Tbe Master’s faaods weal oat sad pa we d
Ikeglu^ His Sopers left sweatp
aarks. ' His bps p r esse d sp aias t the
plass wor ke d. b« no words OBe.
BEYOND tbe plass were tbe i
steadp epes of Barrett Norpard.
tbe force of Sfe se e a a d cuacentrati
those epes. tbe same force that bai
lentlessip drisem bfe onward, ap
primordial s sr aa p s , op tb rwt pb ^
of pears of darkness, onward to tbe
qnrst of Earth.
Tberc eras one more step. A
natter of &n£ap wbp a rat bad
*^*Snddenlp tbe Master jerked ai
Tbere was tbe tiop dick' of tbe
Tbe Master’s soioe ranp thronpb te
room, bif and powerfaL
"Hafabard. c^ die faaan it tre of ad-
tntiat Get a bit of the aaoat pconnaaap
awn in the fidds of liiii rWiaisrrp, mdi»>
acDTitp. and force fields. Arrtwpr far
tbe braidipp of new hboratarici Get
m orinp. We’ve pot ibtnps to do.”
He swcBp abonl. and sraa back to the
hat rater* His t«h-Epped ante
that of the ana in the iwirbap
mist. Tbe Masirr spoke safdp: 'FI
sCMd tbe drtea.”
Oathde the dawn was breMmv. TW
dap’s h es ry powe r draai was bephoinp.
The par of tbe dpnaaaoa below tbe
sritb a anrpe af power. Tbe phot pc»>
er at o r s screamed defhace at the mw*
Duel In The Space
Lanes ’
. by William C. Beckett
of oar hw.** Har^ Kafta. Lord of Qo^
Haded aa he ««fll oo, koaiBf bode m the
day chair which waa kaa thu half Earth
oiac. ''The ptnilry for tipif—tr »—
death. At d a wn yoa ihni he ima to
the lyaee frooi which yoa mow**
*^oa jndas.'* Tboep ifM at' the
Earthanan in the ychew United Sfocc-
eraft tawform. "Dcacoa, yon fied. Yoa
know I landed oofy for repairs. I “
The cart, m t ur mg ode oa Dcaoop
Darael*t dark, aonow face did not
chaofe as Har^ Kafti ihoatcd. 'Sdeocel
Gnardi. to the cedi with faiat'*
Froa ckhcr aide two gnf linnned
QaoBiai hfted short, alcadcr, adwer-
tipped rods ahooc their heads, foeoasne
thein Tharp's bek. The dps (lowed
aodier as the i n ertia njs began to tarn
leah with a dd hnit. nntl hss ten s e d
wscies (xns in and Ad their baddnig.
Thorp waBEed en v el op ed in the aaher
jodcBent haD to the cels. Walb. loor.
hsster of osnoa^l^^^ cel kseif was
bore, the window ' a (rhdng of oaeainai
bars, the door Idee a space lode. WoJan,
a adenoe as of ootcr space fofohfrd him.
* About M$ of mtim oat
of here as I'd hare of lying wkhM a
rodtet.” Thorp spoke wkh a srry grin.
‘'Wonder what s cen er y is hke?
Mighi as wdl swv^ now. 1 hssen't
loach time left to tools It it." Like aO
expenenced pdots of w lonely spocc
lanes, be tailed alood continnslly.
Throogb the gratmg. Thorp coaid
look over the metal cey bmemh him.
ideat now in the brief night. Ifis eyes
fa ll oae d op^m girder- fashianed She an
enrthly spite, ks cagfat anas sn pporti ng
the tr sn s hneot metal platca whidk were
abons cscry Oonian cky. Any one whn
hnd ever town a ship wrklnn the othki
of Jopker’s moons ooold. capisi n the
parpose of the peotcctine roof and the
di seiwe that made k neocaovy.
tl« cats.” m s ira i eo t dbcaoc caved by
even sfigbt expoonre Co the mvftle sndL
aboo ponred from the gsaat mater
planet. Eanhmen filed k canotr. hat
k was a cancer a ccel er ai td so i nowin ns ly
that death sraa a natter of only tow
honra. So far. only te tiantecak
metal cyprorfromte Jovian qnaem wna
The finneing factor appe^ la he shoot
nrn hanilrfd ihrsasml tiah a nbirh asa
the mother plancC, sraa stifl naaplored.
THORP knew that they were m the
shadow of japker now, hot the ptalea
above ahe asctal cky were hnninona. Af-
mort a tenth of the sky, k seemed, wna
blotted one wkh a mass stech m nnirnri y
termed to change p o si tion as lo aped
akag ks oebk. Even throogh te aaetal ^
p i str s Ju pker was lovely. Gkssring horn
wkfam. ks axial spin dearly thsplsyrd
nine brown, red, seed ofave-grecn ba nd s
to the bctle moon in ks orbk two bon-
dred and kxty thoo s a nd nalca away.
Thorp t ur n e d from the gfstlng . As
be paced back and forth in the narrow
enntes of. the cd, thooghta formed
A8TOUKDINO SCIKNCK-FICTIOM
in hit miodaod he bc{Hito t»Dctohia>>
■dL Siyim thiaft alood d to
■aalcc then dew.
*X2«Kk aad cfcaa. that’s what. Easier
to dk ia a apace lock thaa to rot in a
radiam ccB in w eeks . Deaooo’t nart.
Bjr tai aiac ine ia he fets oo the iaside
orhiC*anch Harq KaSa. or vaj tavica-
tna’t'odL' f
Swiitix he re ai e w ed fab latest aojrace.
h* had h a ppmrd loac after he bad
croated the orfak of Eoropa. With the
cmk Hoac 01 tat n^BK fear fOCIIU*
tabe loose aad har i^ faia> aeaca de-
fiaea off co u r s e, it dida't tabe a anstrr
aaad to decide to bad oo lo. bw or ao
bw. Aad it dida’t take a ai ait c r aaad
to faaow that DamcO had beea l es poasi-
hk lor the red dare of taibet Thorp had
seta h e t we ea Etaopa aad lo. Bn fajr
the taae the take wa* re pa ir ed aad
’Thorp was rcadjr to fare** the field la
Sastllitc Five, there were Datad aad
tte Qaaiaat aroood falsa. Aad veep ia>
’niorp fioqk bif ahoadders iasi^
the eraea loterworld Traasport aadom
be swre. aad passed a bor^ head tea-
dcrip acroas fast red^faroate kair.
"Thote hBk Mlowa p^ aoaae wal-
lop ia their loroc rods. They areal ower
three lest Isgh. hat froai fie way ny
head leeb they ssieb fae fiaqr.*
He didat o^ la faeas about Deacoa
Daraefl. 'Tborp Inew Darael as srd
as he kaew fab oera i a s t r ane s a paaeL
For the bat decade Eanh had beea
starved lor aactab But aot lor the oon>
have, fie heavy aoetab Eatfi bdeed is
qwaatiiy — the o sm i um , iri di ia n . pbt-
iaaak i h o diuni . paOadiaB aad rafieo-
ian which aloae could rcsbl the sotease
iacaadeaccsKe of the rocket tabes aad
the skia friaioa of space ships b aa at*
anaphere. To aaeiai'baofry Earth, the
wifi good re as oa. For the fa b tecy of
Earopa. Ganyaaede aad Caliatn vras a
gr ee dy ihimblt i of rathiesa cepb i tati oB.
It was wifi reasoa fiat the an of lo.
or Qd as they named k. had doac^ their
world to an Earfiaoea. Aad aow the
lltWJ^ Oi wOBCQ dpBi^pCnil wot iXXEf*
world. Tr ans port fa^ fcscfacd socb A
pitch fiat oae Earfiataa would betray
aaothcr to obta i n fie admtage m the
^aesc for the rare laetab
“Bf t a ra ia g nx b what docs Daraefl
do? Easy to gaeas fiat,*’ Ted B ante red.
*Tlc poses as a fricad to lo. gets tac
kSed off. aad wfaea the tiax b ripejie
kts b Uaitcd Spacecraft aad gels Ida
fiarc of the loot. Soart, that
The o s m i um waBs k^ pcrecptfiiy
ig hirard ia color. Dowa was aear.
Thorp aewaed firoogh. the dense* Bxtal
seals fie figb wfabper of wtioo oat-
■dc. They had coax lor faka. *
ONCE AGAIN eo ve k p ed b Maher
Thorp paced ahead of fab tsn
vi^bat gnardx HHthoot fity
gfided h^ dowB p diff ere nt corridor ky
fie nae of the ber t ia rods. Itxritabiy,
Thorp approached fie gbaniog slver
ovoid hfii of space sfip X-J729, wfaire
It by b the coortyard. Khe aa cnocnons
drop of water g inring b fie sm. Hb
noac tingled wifi fie iharp odor of md>
.nonb Bat fie coaccscratiaa was very
fatW g ^ a ^fffaa tfast OO Goo7BB(Sc.
One coaid bear k wifi pcactic c . Aad
Thorp had had p le a ty of pe acts at b the
paM ten years on the Jovian ntcflkea.
Damcfl good near fie en t r y poet.
**Dida‘t waac to tabs the eaemtion.** be
Ted Thorp adn
the Qaabns kept
eted to hbwdf that
the fnxJves sefisded
Thoep granted. **Chsngtd coloes
sgab. bfir be asked.
Dsracll fia g ere d fie j ew el hloe a crim-
soa fire oo hb breast. Afarapdy be
dsi i Od to Eaghsb. *nhb yon
Bxaa? Given to fie P res er v er of Qo
— me — lor the c ap t ur e of one
who b probably the greatest ca e n ty to
the peace oltfac realm of Qo mp nin g
DUSL IN THE SPACE LANES
ye«. Kicr. cfa?* He nnflrd ftady. "It
CMTies wkb it tbe nak el {earth n obl e
el the atefiite the fwrwnMxi at this
sqohd in c fair ge at e xenai o n s.**
"Yeah. I know." Thorp kept bis
ian napasarre. "When does United
-Spooecrait get in?"
Dameirs (aoe t«i«ed; then be MiaVd .
thoogfa «itb an ctfert. "Net ntil after
the eaetHtioQ. Thorp. And jroaH have
c o M pan y. Six Qaniam drop irso space
with jXM. Bat they won’t hother yoa ;
they’re stiff already with gaofr. I'm
loe i rin g oat ioc yoo, rhooghL. Vea don’t
get any, to yea’s loiow aD abowt it wh en
the port begins to swing." His mice
rang with iron finality. "We’re usin g
year ship for the excentioa : tbe Qooiaas
are a n xio ws to landlf the htcat type el
oar spa cecraf t. To geiqg op in ny earn
ship to oba tr s e the — er — last rites. Any
"Net by yea. DsmeS." Thorp stared
at the aactatpaxed yard, s trl r ing to beep
has face ralm , bia Banner hopdcaa.
bis eyca ghnted with newly awakened
eptim i tni If they nsed fab own space
traiatr. there na^ — jost Bsgfal — be a
rbanrr An ontside c han ce, ma ybe , bat
in the space lanes yea fixed only by tik>
ing fhaaicrs Exidendy Dsmeff hadn't
had dase to k)ok oxer the c q uipnw oc ol
X>3729, or bae bad l or goum that "X"
denated an e x p er iaacncal ship.
"Damefl." Thorp spoke xrith fab
eyes tbll downc a st- "Uayhe I won’t
see k. ■ Bat the Space Patrol trill get
yea tor this. S 0005 T or htcr tfaeyll
get yea. And wha yea get years, 1
hope it’s slow and painfu L"
"Don’t gire me ideas. Thorp, or "
The words floated back oxer Oamdl’t
shnwIdcT as be swung toward fan own
bloe sphere oidal craft.
laxofanstarilr. Thorp tensed fab
saasdes. dosched bis fists. The bole
gray guards snapped alert, swung tfadr
silm -tipped rods hig her along fab body.
'Tharp fdt a st agger ing laswcude dooe
m around fab bean. He relaxed.
Oae ol the guards spoke. "No aaoxe.
red gtant. or I panlyie."
Thorp nodded. He ne eded all fab
strength and speed. He dared not risk
a shock xrfaick wo td d slow the smooth
wortdog at fab brans and nerxes.
The guard spoke agaisL "Now yoa gn.
Forward."
E n te l o ptd B the amber ciond. ’Thorp
paced ahead and entered the space lock
at fab ship. ‘Tbe guards lorad hiB
aloaig until he was weff wkfaia the horc
ol-tfae port and out ol the way d the
tiny teeh ni c ian a who xreae already su in g
adjusting the r emote co ntr ol ichaic . Sex
Qoniasss were lying in dnggod sleep
dose to the port. They wo u ld newer
know the mowirw when the door flwsnsf
ootxrard and the cold csnpdneaaol owter
space tmed their bo£ea into xa« wkiM
pidb ol IHfIfsa amctcr.
The nrfwirbn s Ushed their wuefc,
m UK wX3L tac {ttsras oBPsn osp
doBQg the protective giating. Bat they
kept their p oskioni out s i de . Thoep
to watch. farm unti ***~— * the BoasewC
ol exeesn o n . He amd xiith grim mmo*
most. "DameQ moK base pbatered fab
OW ffpIltHlOCl OQ BC.
SUDDENLY the slap sfanddered.
TlvQQ|[h tbe iosuliied v^Bs the duS
UMDOCa Ci Ok rOOBCt"%HPC3 pCBCmMO
only enoug h for Thorp to sense the xi>
faradoo. {ek rather tfaiu beard. A. leel*
ing ol incTcascd w e ight toU at rapid ac-
ede ration. Hb trained senses told fasB
ol each step taken' in the c on tr ol ol the
rocket. He knew wrfaen they had passed
throogh tbe i ii tom atic pfaoco-ccfl con*
trolled gate m the metal rool by c o oa t-
iag seconds. Tiixnrdiat e l y thereafter the
steps in a c c ei c r ad on bec am e inrrrisiagty
jeri^. Thorp thonght disgustedly.
"They’re gut a lot to kam yet ahoot
Throogh tbe than atmospfacre the ship
spendon. As the rciisrancc diminhhed.
ASTOUNDINO SCIBNCE-FICTIOH
the dull loand of the r ochet tn h et (&d
ooc. The ship wM tireadj h e j ood the
tliaDov Mno e phcr e of lo. Thorp s hoo k
bnnsetf. stretched xnm and lejt. aad
moTtd tack aod forth to looom op bis
— isciet. Uttob tru rieely he took m poii-
tioa oa the port side of the tube afae ie
a bou p ro tr ude d . The foards' tpsd
Bothin(. akhoo(h they peer ed at him
with their erp {okSen eyes. He was
har wdrti . their acboBS showed.
A t iyhnicun joined them suddenly.
He be^aa to i ns pect the seafan fasfcet
■ninatcly. FbaBy fab bead nodded. He
was satisfied. The three fianoed in
afain at Thorp with ma k roicnt (sees
and swunc the disk which scakd the
take.
As the disk da&(ed shut and the
(asket sonde the seal. Thorp spranf into
action. At any second the outer port
woold open and let in the cnid dark of
space. Thorp r e a ched for the boas,
tamed k. Tte metal care in fab hand
A section of pod sSd i nwar d, rc r ea linf
a onabcsre space lode Thorp (rmned
When, be had had that port twsrallrd as
a oanrensenoe in takinf toob in and oat
of the ship withoot dbtnrfainf the m ai n
disk , be certainly hndn*t r sprinted to
need it as faadly as thb. ^k'itbaat a sec>
cad's passe be jack-knifed into the port.
The panel t lammr d behin d him.
With set face. Thorp jerked down a
space suit from its rack, sbd into it ted
sealed the hrigwt Safe for the mo-
ment. But the crew, what of them?
At least fifteen aboard, far too many to
tackle Uone.
“It’s them or me.'* Thorp mattered.
His face 'grim, fab nsouth srfabe and
p i nched, be reached om. The panel slid
opm again. Thorp opened the disk coo-
craled m the tool-room wafl and d i ned to
grip the tpace-sak rack. As be dd so.
his cars beard dimly the prdimiaary
whine of the outer &>k release. The
pi<n swung open. Simakaneously air
screamed past Tbqyp. In thundering
sound, space and cold possesaed the ship.
So quickfy had k been that Thorp no-
dmrfa e d fab hands as if be svere dazed.
The cold began to fake in. He m or e d
as in a dr e a m, fab hands adjusting the
temperature control on the mk izocd
be iek warm agam. MechanicaBy he
sealed the port. Moriag to the tool-
room wr in dow. Thorp r e tc h e d riolemly
as be taw six hidesaent mosfaroooas al-
ready moriag in orbits about the ship.
“Thra or me." he said, “them or toe."
Iforiag bke an old. feeble man, Thorp
gained tie cootrol room. There w er e
wfake. for m l es s efaings here, m a n y of
them. With face arerted. he wafted to-
ward the panels. In the pdoi’s p o s ition
stood a great metal c o l msus . at least
seren feet taL Lfte a great box with
arms the giant loomed orcr the eo a tr o lt .
hb four huge hands on the rocket ler-
cn and hb pboto- ek ct r ic eyes s eitwiin g
the coarse.
rOCXcDi* I DOCp
“Look what those apes did to my ship.
Four mamal con tr o ls now jua for that
bilged mechanica] man. Get back
thercr He shored the metal man back-
ward on fab track to fab p o siti on agaimt
the wan.
THORP TOOK the oontrols. cursing
again the awkwardness of the doable le-
rerv He switched on the tasks to re-
plenish the a tmnsphfre aod began to
scan space for a ghmpsc of DsmbL The
bine sfaip rroaU be somewfaere near, be
knew.
It was near. A red Bare of rodeets
ahead made a ririd splash in the dark-
ness of space — blazed briniaarly against
a backd r op of black rrirct stars. The
' rast. oraL banded orb of jopeter pulsed
with varied colors. Back ^ the slop,
Thorp c o u ld sec lo fake a ydkm orange,
and stiD fartfaer out the bine disk of
Eoropa and the reddish-gray of Gany-
mede.
Thorp was ready. The bkse ship came
rushing back srkh kxrtasing aenfera-
tion. Darudl eridendy wanted to im-
OOKL » THZ IPACS LANXS
a
pnatiK Qaeiam vkh a akaft,
TiMfp tfaooffat. H< «iw^rf im poa*.
boa aa m tbiftT^flbt iboaoBd nilet
froB lo— eaooiih ipac e ia whkk to non.
anxnxL Ghnnm ioto the beoUe eye
of the nace fiodcr Thorp btfia to coonc.
“Naety, o^faty, arveaty, any Irn
odes per tccoad. Forty, thirty, loiaiy,
teo— ah r Hit faaad doted oo the oaf*
Bcbc c^apod relcaae. joked k to apo-
tore *r«OL As the skeot, imiaUe ray
leaped oat, DarodTa kloe oaft arroird
lo do«^ ka speed. Bot Wfarc Daroel
coold crash toco him. Thorp staaned
doarn a krer astd twitched a fcooh to
mdoaboo ten. A penci beam of enid
Op WU fPB niBQ WDCB BS IVaKD
ccai^tofirc. Thorp cot his owa tabes
and the twin ships crwrim i rd to itroire
Darnell faadaT ^oit. Throogh the ps-
lot’s dom e Thorp taw the p ro je ct o r oa
Che ocher craft bcfia to tpk a carieoa
c oppe r -ced hram with a grceo core. The
ray splashed over the oaoa um hoi,
dwart i int Thorp’s ryes wkfa flame.
Agam and agba attached*^
^ f u rio us.* coeuscating brdKaocc aearmg
the hoD as the pobes came in aaoeoeacary
isaemia.
Tharp waa watrhiag hb ex t e rior bo*
lonwt er which was t byrnrirrti og at a pro-
orange sped oat oa the tame pads aa
the w sg oeri c grapaeL The Uk ship
s topped, jerked violently, thndde r ed as
k craihed head-on iaao the faree ray.
Aa if k woe wdded to « ttsal beam, the
Woe craft bdd ks di i ranre from the afl-
^gio ns rate. Thb ray was aometh^
And be knew of no
itofigtahock. Alkc
cooid do was to w atc h the hope thadthe
aT fuse.
. Thorp waked for a sigB of flfe from
the oihtr. He toon got k. Wkh rock-
ets flmoiog SB red fnry the bine cnfl
spim. It jerked, spiraled in aaat heSeea
wkb r oc bm flariag now on Ike poet
bdc. now on the atathoord. To Therpw
the night of sp n er was lo« ia vast td
flames that ci r cled the fimamenC. Jw-
pker and lo tpno. aaxed iaaerdaage-
a% as the X-3729 looped md danced
with the ship on ks tet^. Bat Thorp
was amSag. He had atm all this fae-
fare. The end was sore, for no tpaoe
ship made by faomoa bands bad force
cnongh to break these hoods.
Now he beg an to taaot DitwdI, lo
pby with him temptin gly, aiiag hia own
rocJwts to modify, to acre at . or to retard
their joint moben. The apiaaing be-
came wider — a cstad y m ac battle ^ op-
poamg power, b taiar forces joining to
fkng the boy ships tbrntgh the im-
Bcwsky of spocc with ewer-inaeosiag
velocity. The crntrifagal force b mme
shnmt intolerable, dirt ying the brain
and nombing the senses. Bnt the rcaril
of the tremendons cflort was nd ; the Hne
CAUTIOUSLY at first, then more
faiddy, Thorp waed bis tabes, accxksii-
k«. WUe the ray yet sphafaed bis
al^ arkh color and heat, he aet Ida
of the nagkey handed dUc l oonang over
theso. Fiftn mies per nc oof —
mongh. Ahoat an boor and a baM so
the Jovian atmo sp her e. Thorp frowned.
*Too fcog," he muttered . *The old
gkl cemialy w3l overhent. No itlrig'
I » « pr stii r > waa seal eftak-'
iag. Bat more dowly. U p - 2 SOO*— -
only 200 more and the fadD wotdd begia
to. drip mnitra meuL Thorp kept hia
eyes txamed on the h olo m e ter dial, hardly
daring to breathe. Tsro aaontca passed
■ op 20*. Two more five dtgrtrjL
Two more— steady. Two more— steady.
Two more — going down I Thorp b^
loved hoarsely in triomph.
Darnel knew that be was w asting
precio ua power, for the ny s oick t d off.
Under tte tsendy\ Hast of the sSver
ship, the two noeoWward toward the
I
✓
ASTOUK0INO SCXKNCK-PICTION
O
JoTtai £ik. Thorp wiited gr la i y lor
the next nore.
The only w u va a ^ he lad wss the
feiatcM w toper o( metal oo metaL He
vas rtoopim imder the penrl rcachm^
ior a tool. As Thorp taraed. the breach
wcM oat of him in ooe h»( fasp. The
robot pilot was looae. Lo o miin ora
the pte*s chair, the vaat anaa were
chninc. A doll crun ch — the rcrean i of
lortnred metal — and the chair was a tae-
Iru masa of acrap.
“Rodceta! Sizzhnf rodcetsr* Thorp
yelled. TdeceocroOed. tore aa Sntsra
has rmcaf*
Hia arm vein back, then fo rw ard .
Hurled with aO hia atreoeth the heavy
wTcaeb aped t ru e atrai ffat lor the ro-
hot’a eyca. Qasa tmided. Thorp
sprawled aside. The biiad co l naaaa
heaved backward, ks arms pn wip g licD-
leady.
Dripp inf with s we a t, Thorp wasted
no time re cav er int batinrr C caaSn f
taader the loar bp(e pn«a that swm{ in
r andnavhiaaim area, be dove fraalicaDy
lor the power cable controflinf the roboc
He aeixed it as draa r ipped inco the
ihnnidrr of hb apace aoit. heaved
■ ach tiy . The cable tort ooL
— _ «• T Vrir f. ,-ir, , % frnnti aa ^
VT OCW. I nOfp WipCQ ntS mXtBO/2^
r uh b e d the tin^kn^ mu a’ Ira where the
daws had gripped. *'Ko more chances
wkh this bal^! HI have niffacmarea
for forty w eeks straiefat.*'
Sfaoviac the metal man now haraa-
Irss — into p oaition ifainst the wall.
Thorp chained him there.
*Tbat*a jost so yon won't walk in
yuor sleep. Oscar." be aaid>mildly.
Once a^aia in dte pSot'a doow. Thorp
used the doaUe-imafc micrometer, tak-
hx a reatfanc in defreca of arc of
pilcr'a disk that now drow ned oat the
aky with its variegated tfaccn. The ob-
servation— Ted fl i pped tfaroa|h the
tablea, fooad the re ad^ . Twenty-five
decrees, a httlc above 200j000 mJca and
approndiiaf at a v el oc ity of mote than
15 mOea per aecood.
Thorp {laaoed at tfaevbte
ship he
was fordnK >k>oc *bead of
. There
was no aifn of Ide from the mb
cr craft.
AB the more reaaim to be watdo
IpLDar-
odi vu doobijr dsflffTOQS wltu
oo nfn. ^
"Hope yoa bdee the joy-rid
kl Dar-.
nell," Thorp said with vast ironyi
THERE WAS no time to more.
For already the ships were ark hin the
danger ro ne where the tranilurc nt screen
of cyfrrs me^abno loofcr protected from
the Jovian rtnanaiion Thorp frasped
a havfly anu ore d cable, iaiterted ka
tnple-proogcd pln( into a receptacle on
a ahirfim new p a nel above the instra-
ment board. Pkm(inf shot a twkeb.
be watched aa the frequency po ur ed into
the ooCer abeO bokt op.
"If the cq ua t io m are correct." be
mused, “the rlrrtrnniif netic wave of the
seventeenth octave should peutrafisc the
rmanatino by inter le r cnce. If k doesn't
— food-by. Tbeodorer
Ak any rate be woold toon know. If
the fmanat i rm penet r a t ed , there would
be a naU ikao inflammat ion; perhaps a
sore bice a bod would aoddcnly appear.
Then the bicb fever that swiftly fal-
lowed, a fi erce g na wi n t wkbin the very
oeSa of bis body whic h vronU twihly
lead to d c l irsun i and death. Thorp re-
membered only too well bow ocher pilo t a
who bad voy aced u nn ia ety Dear Jnpker
PBQ KWawCil WHCS wCTC lOUfW rOC^
ten h u sk s that had been men.
He palled down laa rocket control to
the na i lwat iiai m ar ked "For Grave
E mcrfen cy Only." feedac more and
m o r e fad to the flamiof tubes. Speed
m o snsted The peat disk ahead lea p ed
toward bam. A ccelerati oo <5 yards
per a econd per s e c on d. Thorp rain dated
swiftly. Abont twe n ty nanotrs of thia.
aided by the f t a v kati onal stress of Jnpi-
ter. woedd pot ban somewhere near the
danger hoe. ban where he could still
parabofae the orbk— if the strained
tu bes dsda't blow the ship into atoms
DUSL IN THE SPACE LANES
O
fint. By that dme Dvndl wooU be
hdpfeaa— be hoped.
- The bfae sfaip woke ts Ibmirn life.
Rodicts bfedaf. the twin >bip« j e ri ced
in rioknt. t n i nf im ipink. The beat
ray flamed orcr the white ibip. Dnr-
neil was ridonf rr ex ythint in ooe cast
of the dice.
Thorp ■ atc fat*i the b o fametrr dial
cbmbL Hifber, bi(ber — wotdd
it nerer itop? Darnell was thi o wing
an fats reserve pow er into the ray thb
time. Tbroogh the pikt's dome tbe fanQ
began to look oddly pined and'wora. A
thin spray ot metal drops g ath e r ed oo
the rim d the port.
Thorp kept dose watch on fait skin.
Not a sign of rash yet. not a sign. "Boy,
it worked like a chronometer," be mot*
tered.
The fafaae ship was acting qoeerly. The
lac ke t tabes ftamrd and oeaaed at ran*
dam. The hent>ray p eo j eet o r no loogtr
fonasrd osi X-1729; it m ow td in err atic
tSpsea. Thorp kziew the signa. De>
krinml llnleM Per haps Dnmell
was shammin g. Thorp shook fats bead
— oo more risks with that bird I
Brighter, grnsring uwamatly, the
Jovian orb l o o m e d o v er him He kept
his eyes on Hie d eg r ees of arc, co un t-
ing notfl the disk saa too great far tbe
range of the ntramesK. The time was
ap pronch in g. Lem than five mi wars
away from the pf an ct Thorp fired fait
l an ^ng rockets, catting oat the pro-
pcSera. Jerking panel refe as ea
sanohancoosly, be M off tbe aia g nrt i e
grapmJ and tte fetoe beam. The vi>
braboo of tbe fare rocket-tabes c u tring
down tbe t e rr ifi c v el ocit y called bit at*
t ea ion. S a ridie d that he c oul d tbl
parahnliTe bis orbit wiffs’irar l y to misa
tbe'rim of Jove. Thorp tsmed agaia to
tbe bine sfaip.
Hnrfad onward with its own aao-
a a rntum assd fast cau ght by the uagtay
grip of Jupiter, Damel’t ship was d wia
dh^. Tinier nd tsafar miniT the
sfaifbag. mottled bands, it ga i ned ve-
locity ja it never bad with a living hand
at Ihe'ooexrafa.
Thorp shnddered. "Even if he's afive,
nothiag can stop bim now," be remarked.
Wkb fasritatrd eyes oaabk to tarn
from the inrvitafefa diaamcr, Thorp
ryntrd tbe minutes , One guae. Two
gooe. The bioe skip waa a glawing dot
in tbe Joviaa ahnaspfaerc. Three— and
now there was no trace la show dat the
space absp bad ever been.
For a long mn a tir s r Tberp stood is-
leotly gasiag at tbe isir rha^gjng bmds
of tbe asaasitr pfaacL FinoHy be spoke.
"So loi«, DarasO."
Tnrniag to bis control board he apohe,
**^*ae faabfaa in wlaic can wmt w-
id I get beytad the wanarion " .Wkh
Ready bands, he set bis coarse for the
I nter worl d Transport boae on Csny
mtde.
cs
Jason Sows Again
by
*■
AST—S
M
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
— tmd tJuy hadm'l sttmti
imp»rUmi. Tkf mtfiomi »mtsU* tkt Orv
rat had ratfmatd Uu § rt m. im g damgtr,
hmt tack was jaataus af aO Uu olhtrt,
amd mat watdd take Ike’ lead n staf~
fimf Ike etH framak befare it i t c mit
taa- d am f tret. Amd t two matiat
tamid wark n karmcn j . ^
Sa—ffty min am mha were mat afraid
la die were mta r c ki m y
•
IT lad rtmDy bt fw in 1931. vkh tbe
fam ati oB of the p u ppe t Oite of Ma>-
dwku o. tatder the tide of a feeble cm-
pctor who vat potty in the haodt of
thoae vfao had placed him in power.
Then, freat bite* had been taken oat of
China. JehoL Chahar. OnhB There
teemed no ejartm e to which the acpcs-
ter natton wo uld not go.
In 1939 it catr out the p u pp et cm-
pemr. and no one even knew whe re his
hones were bu ried, or hit athe* scat-
tered. His need had poamd. and the
true anp cfo r ruled the vastest larion on
the face of the ■■ poiec of nan-
bera. And eve r y child of that (rest
a imipwuti oo came into the world be-
Eeeinf that the cmpetcir wat God. and
that to (fie in his t tnice was to achieve
innertality. Thus was tenor of death
ha m die d from tbe coind of the east,
(towing horror before even thst mind
was fsp s h l e of knowing *t**rt* Not
tfiffenh in a had where was
the breath of hnnan noatrila.
And. prepared thou(h Unde Sam
was, be M not know that the fifty mil-
fions vrere msrrh i n f oabl they stru c k .
TVey ttiuck as no army in the world
had ever wrack before, save the armies
of the Great Khant— or at thoae armiea
wotdd knee Wrack had their ma nh er
been in the many ndfioat.
Snheaarinetl The mow tremendous
eiwr assembled anywhere. Nobody
knew how their secret hod been hrye,
nor where they hod been put t Of Uhu
■ — until the knowl ed fe vat of fiixle nte.
Then it wat kno wn that they came inia
bciaf far under the tea, far do w n to-
ward the bate of Kita-iwo-tfaima. a nee-
dle of rock that rote out of the depths
of the Pacific. BrilHam brow n in ven-
tort hod devised a meant of penetrat-
inf the rock to the depth desired, then
brnkfing out from it on all aides vaW
t a dc r sc a s hi pya r d t which even the an-
fda could not have fo un d . And then,
when they bod builded their dnps. they
sent them forth to the catt. like ar row s
travefinc under the turfacc. fatter than
arrows had ever flo w n.
And each wat firw packed t hr o uf h
aO availabie apace with the hew armed
troops ever banded to te t h cr tro ops
who bad marched and c I'lunitr marched
for years in Ckiorvr areas de nie d al
those years to fat ci ftw fs of crery de-
scription. Only the vt$oew rnmort had
seeped out of those vast parades. Rn-
mors which spoke of gases to scan the
mind* of men. Rmnm that spoke of
projectiles nhose very w hisper was
drath, whose * wonld devastate
we ap ent even the cr e wo rs of tales of
to m o erow had not drramrd of—
I aCj KlUCJC DBc CnUHOCraOKS Ci ODOHi
on a s yiram g never to he for-
gotten. MonWers rose from the deep
off the Wcw Coast of North America,
over agamw S« Diego, and San Fran-
cisco. Portlaed. Seattle. Vwscouver —
nor (fid the uicmy care for a wngk in-*
stark that the attack on V ancou v er ain»-
matscaDy forced Great Brittas into the
ho l nrauW They gave no* thw i g ht to
Great Britain w all. for world c o nq uew
was their goal, and they won l d fvaBow
aO larinns as they dedartd wrar, or
whether they did or not.
Great sh^ tnnshed into the coaw
dries. Socads so great and dr e a d f al
the nrnid of nan codd not be fi eve them
soondi which drove the b ear e rs in-
stantly nftd. so that they tnraed on one
anfithfr and Bee dogs, ns the
s tr eets , imtd the vast pro j eet u es fcfl
<7
JASON SOWS AGAIN
naoog than, learbif ocJy pSo o( bloody
hamn dijr where the sad ooes hod
fao|^.
THE ARMY of Unde San re-
treated. bccaase there wat n ot h i n t die
it cooSd do. Nothing hianin could tt a ial
before the hadiac parties of the Yd-
low Girdle, a matae the grot yellow
captre had talcea — som ewhat trooicaly.
too — as the Yellow Girdle had . oexT
been the aicn aad sysibol of a dynasty
tint had. in ks time, becn^ fte^
Fifty milSoni were miircfani| — but
first they came under the sea. vrVing
the w es t ern b ea c hes for their a&en feet.
And before they boded their prpfec-
tiks found the g r eat cities of which the
United States had always been so prond.
attd when the p ro i ecti les strkk— -bxily.
to horribly hady, because this was su^
a li mp le tpudne mriftrr Kni d inp Idl
hno dust crea when they were not
urock. aad the actual paths of the pro-
jectila were deep ceuiees in the earth.,
and ip con cr e te paeeraeats aad side-
walcs. Goalees whoae h ideo us waBs
were ringe d with the height, red Mood
of those who had not had time to dee.
But even the grmuat eafaat r ophe the
world had erer seen left some snr s i t ots .
So cataclysm, of hununky or of na-
tnre. could wipe out c a cr ytfamt I*—"*"
The win to fire gave many the rharxr
to fire — to die later perha^ aad cten
more horribly.
'San Diego in rums.** said the ra£o.
•creaming out the horror.
*Los Aagrlrs in rwiws." almoat at
the same irwtant,
San F ran c is co hid waste as a do w n
eanhquafies of 1906 co ul d nrrer hare
hid k waste. Portland destroyed. Se-
attle a er u s n b l i a g. dnsty ruitL
And oat of the dust of destmetkm.
where nothing, k seesned. ooaU poari-
bly Kse. came the l ur sisnrs. Their eyes
Wart^ from their beads, and few of
them would erer see again. But they
ran. mrapahlr of tiring, to high g r w m d .
as though they fled from monttrr tidal
nrcs. gr rg a n g before them wkk broken
bands, wide their prayers wesn aaadly
op to a god who M < iian gl y could not
bw.
Milfiaos were killed — yet milSoM
came out through the dust of white bn-
naaky’s tfismtegratioa. aad m ad e (or
the high ground, for the mosmta k is to
the east, whe r e the Rockies and their
child ren fo rme d a barrier that even the
fifty w s Di o n srodd hare diff ic u l t y in
braching. For the Rockies, aawm the
cons, had known cataclysms before whic h
ertn thn..fifty ndSnn were as notb-
bg
But even so. bet w e e n the mfwmtaint
and the sea. the Yellow Gbdk. in the
time bet we e n dawn and nridday. in the
year 1915. had yhntrd c o i mtirt s feet to
tread out the gre ate st colony of the new
empire. .
Rrmrants of the A m enc an army and
nary r s raped to the mo i wPi ia s to iv-
fonn. Armies from the east trawl ed at
top speed— in aii p h nes and triini to
the eastern slopes of the great rampart
— aad some of them nsT f i sed. ICoiy
tSKw.Mti.ta w i iMtr tSi» feBmg boodba
o£ cDcoiy wra r p hnea . Many <fied of db-
ease. But neTer'-'had the co u rag e of
srhke mankind ran so high, n c e er had
white Hunkmd -been m determmrd
wtrriwe. and save the great land he had
cooq snred far bis chil dr en and their
children.
Men b et nten thirty and forty were
thefirstlofo. Conscripriaa was almow
twee n thirty and forty w er e s lau gh t e r ed,
men on ckber side of thow ages, the
young and the middle sged and the old.
stepped iglo the brea^
A^ the young ones knew, even then,
thw their fathers could not sate this
vast bnd for them; chat they must save
k lor thrmwfrcs or perish mnerably.
And m k h ap pened , w i thi n two days
of the first ghmtly aw a ke ning, that a
■an iwcnty*fis« yean of age; one Daryl
M
ASTOUNDDIO SCmCB-nCTION
pml el the
i the earij ol the Bfpwhir
ecr. Bat the eid^ i tni with attn oa
tto I I iho i ifc tefa inifw fien the he*
^maiag that the hi|i> coanfc. the hrS*
Baa* drama, the daiinllf a oi bi rinM a ol
yawrti ioart be aerved. So they tbea>*
a el r ca caat aboot fee a HA a hera who
was woftfaf, aod Daryl St raa f waa
J— ?- J ^ - 9% f
U»OWBttPOCr*Cr^. flifTa tSnOtT Xat ITCJ**
dcat, el the Araaet ol the Uoited States,
aod el anrh troops ae the oavy na^ht
detach far scr nc e with the ar m y.
' Daryl Stnog was handle io fab
and old wkh the lift of rfam o,
the fear stars were oa fab
For be underwo od fab re-
r; that the fate el the natba
J ■ J-
ITJCT M BB DlDQSw
TEN MILLION nen. m yrep ar ed.
eewyar a ti^l y poorly araoed. a^orit
fifty mBoo I Aa aapoatble taab. Yet
Dteyl Soaa^-lroiD a bi|h piimaclr of
inC PWal MMJBWI wwW ISC wCk SBQ
whbper e d to Woiarlf a load of pr ayer .
doit — yet I most. No army can witb-
waod tbeoi — yet my ar m bs moaL Ho*
omo ficsli rawnnt fire thro o A it — yet
a way most be forard.**
He fa rme d a staff, It ms aprmlded
|To w o eld in the aenke. aad •
1 yeiaiyr erca* tfaaa Daryl
Straaf ImnstlL The old awa rrae wise,
too. far tfaey'kaew a si t u a ti oa they cordd
not **»«*^ wfaea they saw it. & they
s te pped bode freely. to obIcc way for
ci rtwtr adrfoc« backed
by years of cjLpcncscc* as orevnatwes
There was s nwwtfa i w f aborW Daryl
Straaf — whose eyes were Woe as the
mo icTocs vtBCH lac vasync BOorcQ
m eddra tanr i. whoae bob waa abaoat
red. whoae droolders were iaataotly
wkb the we ifh t of hi
from the aatioa wide the
of thooe fibly abcla from the
abba off the w estern coast of
AaKrica.
Headqoancrs was p rosided with ee*
crytbiaf baow a to mifitary ac ie a ce ia
the eVridfat. to adr aa c c the caqpe of
war. ffadhiL Wireless. Te le p h oae j .
Daryl Straaf cooU sit be bu rd fab desk,
deep m the catacmabs nadcr the Rodocs
whic h army fafinren a far-aedaf
fro u p of patriots— had maoa fe d to fct
the foeerameat to prepare afaiast ytot
SDcfa a coetmfeaey at tbb. finbfaiof them
jmt three aaoBths prior to the h o toc a oW .
aad tee aad hear eserytfaiof that weat
oa w he r e the first of the fifty mBfinw
set then feet opoa the soil of the L'oiled
States.
Great trleruors showed hira bow the
battle weat aloaf al the coatf. faem Saa .
Diefo to V'aaoooser. Sooth of Saa
Dicfo the coemtry was already fart, aod
McxicD was a emsal of the YcDow Gb*
die. Ia a aatter of days, no more, the
Ydbw Girdle, filled with Mi
scripu who mart fiffal or die.
be the s omhe r a border.
Aladca fcS as fokUy aod eaiily'as Saa
Diefo^ Pbrtlaad or Seattle. TheYdow
GbA bad ataried a
that was death far a
Unless joaohow the bnios of
mew caaid work mbades. Deeper ttil
ia the fstamenbs , the brasat of
basy widi ezplotera.
in ariatioa. wiih.gase^
wkh fcrms of bidcoes dbease Theb
aaiads hod bcca rtcppcd op. years in
adiaoce of normal BBOrnky, by speed
wkh whbh the YcOow Girdle had at*
tacked. They were rbinf to the emer*
feacy.
Daryl Straaf kaew aB tbb as he re*
tarbed from hb p i nnaeV . from hb tlwdy.
hau a le d eyes, of the slopes that
led dowB iota the west, up
7fl
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
amy thr Yrflow Girdlr hu. A ocw (u
tlait win nrniraiur that which the7E
OK a(aimt tn to rfrrrr at oat of th^
•troofhoM*. Botnha the sixe of a (rain
of Her that can wipe out whole corp»,
whole annin — who kaow»? Bat wich
a mirade must be iorthcceniaf if we
are to *urrr»e.”
The staff utapped into its dutin. Ra-
Set am forth thrrr com ma adt. Wtrr*
kM tapped out order* Georrah of
enrpa and annm tafleed face to face
with their tubordiaatn via teferinon.
And with ttraicht face*, at thouch ther
themadirt befiertd fe n e ct fy in the po*-
lifaiStT of miraete*. the crorralt of the
staff caBed on their men of all ranks,
down to pefrate. for the tniracirs Darjt
Straac dt ma ndrd '
Aad if the fraerals prared a Enie as
they sped the cunnaad for a miracle
to the cars, the hearts and the tools of
therr s ubo rrfin a r es. h#as doubtlrs* pood
for them to pray. It sras akwoot afl they
had left— except for the tn i l fi nn s under
thefr cranptand . who could obI; die Eke
taldirrs when the time camr.
\ihcn the itext m om inp came, the
s oldie r s of Uaefe Sam went oat to die.
Great w ar p lats were ai n p inp oat of the
treat, bearep cargoes of abystnal de-
s t ru c ti en. ArtiOrry. of the fow pes t ranpe
yet teen by A m eric an *, was layinp down
barraps for thr oiyriads of YrOow Gir-
<fir soldien already oe the march
A sohd Este of them, raak oe rank reach-
iap from oonh to aooth. attd c xi end in p
from the west coast inbnd Eke a preat
robber band, wrctchiop in the d ir ect io n
of width
And stin DO mi r ac l e had come to pass.
Oh.V>hemist found a new pas
A expert inTtsced and per-
ferted a cartndpe which could be
Ered from a rifU.astd would e x plode on
contact, de st r oy .^ ^rte r y t h in p for a
t^oanrr of a mile in au tfcrectio ns . .And
ahrady those cartrajpes were beinp
mode in rpsamkies and nwsrd to thr
troepa — beinp sent oOl.^roan the cata-
romfa* that were at once factories and
forts to aO cmats of the American coos-
mand. by aitpbae. One oat of fis«
ptanes reached its destination, for the
warplanes and the wrisible death-rays
of tV Yellow Girdle pot mo*t of the&
Moontam-shakinp explosaons woold
burst amonp the enemy. Bat Stranp
knew in advance that tte e nemy would
dose op the paps and never mass their
dead, became there a t f t to many of
them. , Fifty cmBioa. on the march, while
be hi n d the^ across the ocean that had
dwindled by tcietxe to the breadth of
a man's hand, fiie h u ndred milhoos more
furnished food, su ppl i es, and trained new
myriads.
Xo miracle kad.ctxne to past.
II. •
Yrt Ikrvr wwwU kr « murtcU, at that.
It stos etva mtm mertaip »f tSu wf
Imuidf, im Ikt sba^ #f a man witk a
rmm!l Nark kax ia ku mrtmj — a timmf
tW kke a camera.
Bui kar AaW. katk »f Au Ami rf f. were
Weems, far lAey Aad aa ffapers ^ad
Ae amst Aarr keen a maa a/ preat rata-
ape, jtr Ae Utttrrd alaap tm tkt stakt
af Au aaklrs. krraase Au feet awre paae.
Amd Ae cuuUmI see w*49 Ae wts
paiap. karamse Au eye-sackels stare
YH tkir rarvataee. tkis Aarrar af a
turn. MS sAe mtrucU far •AscA a aa-
Hit namr was J*H Hasrey. and no
one BOW Eved who had ever heard of
bim. That he kxsew very weQ. for he
had tecs his facnily die. and fats friendt.
before tome ejurer tbsnp had happened
to him. that had taken his eyes. Gas.
he supposed, that destroyed only ryes,
as>d somehow, horribly Irft the brain
behind them intact
It was almoit impossible to tell any-
ihinp aboot him. or even for sure that
he was human, because to many phastly
71
JASON SOWS AGAIN
thiafj had beta done to him; kad been
done to him d f ipi te the {act that no
encBi y band had lo o che d him at alL
There had been l omcthin t dte. jotf
as be had cacaped from Oakland A
a o methi og that ran akmg the gro u nd, a
cre eping , lurking miat. And it had eaten
awajr fait tfaoes. and fait feet, at though
they had been nothing. And once or
twice be had fallen, catrhinf h i an a etf
vkfa fats handt, and tfw cf auhpg atuff
had got fan fingers, toa Onl]r a a a ir ade
interrened to keep k from getting fait
hands, anna, all of him. To JaH Haraer
k uouIdn\ hare mattered, save for one
thing: Ikat U*ek fox kr imrriti.
His* hie was in that black box. but
none in iS the world knew that, save
Jari liarrey hmueff. And k waan^ only
the life of Jtrl liarrey, but the fares of
nalbatu of .-Americans— -and k teas such
a small, intignificanc box. to Mark and
cbcap'luofaing. to bold the Kret of mS-
/< atux tkf aufatary tasupoa
of all fiat# — yrt etmU imjmrt nay
mam — nArrriia U mat tka §rtatrr.
Jarl Harrey was. perhaps, twenty-
three yea^ ofaL and be had no rcaaon
to b eli ere that the world had been made
for youth — for be was youth, and the
wkHd had destroyed him His eyes, feet,
fiogers.
And without bis 6ofut bow co^
be maoipulaie the box. and rrhat be
needed to create to go with k— another,
larger box. much larger, that had been
destrored in San Fnneiteo fay
the first big Yellow Girdle projectile that
had acreamed into the doomed city? One
Deeded handt with which to bidd an-
other box One needed eyes with
rrhiefa lo see what one buih Ik'kh-
out eyn one might manage, but rrhat
could ooe do rrkfaout fingers that could
feel, and measure ? * I
The case of the black box was hope-
less. ahnrsu as hopeless as the case of
Jarl liarrey himsrU. aod of the nsd-
bons he rrished to save.
It was a ghastly thing to totter along
on the fa l redin g seinn ps of ankles cren
after din stopped the blood from low-
ing. and the tramps were numb wkh
.pain. It rraan't dificak. if one had
learned Sow to wale on ttskf, and had
one's eyes rrkh rrtsich to see. and aid
the hahnring of the body. But wkh-
out ckfaer k rras a horror, aod a torture
beyond end ur in g — if the mdomk a fa l e will
of the man bad not been stronger ttua
that— at the moment— of any man farinf
in the rrorld.
The cormtry needed a sarrior. Jarl
Harrey would be that tarior if be fared.
He refuaeff So die mml be had b eo o nie
the thing he had to be if the nabon
would aurrive. He co uld oerer be sure
how be g raded himaelf. nor how long
be had trarded. He kept the rrinda
against bis body where knew they
should strike at f i r m hours of the day
and nig ht, if he tr a r el e d the right ds-
rectiocs. for be knew the country bcrc-
ahnura, and could trard k bli ndfo l de d.
\V'bicb rras fortunate for ooe who bad
no eyes.
HE GASPED at far ran forward, a
horrid running. His breath rasped front
his l u n g s, hornin g Eke fire. Blood
trickled from the co eae r s of hb aaoanh.
because bis bmga were raw, and bis
tongue rras gone, his mooda-titsoes rot-
ting array But he knew, crenian-
dwapp ed as be was. that be woadd not
& uiml he had been g i ren bis chanre .
He had been a fool that be had not giren
the secret of the black box to bit gor-
e mm e n c. It miffat bare sared the ooma-
try, t h o u s awd a. milboot of fares. Otdy
he had been b ur ie d io bis hfaoratory, aiad
had sc ar e eJ y. thought of war.
“I win get there," he told hims el f
fiercely, rrkhout sou n d, through bis
gasping mouth. "So meho w I rrill make
my hands do my biddi n g. I rril mske
them fed rrhat I rrish to do. make them
do k for me."
The s t u mps of kgs didn't hurt, not
n Asjommma sccnccE-FicnoN
mOx; far bew c wil d iwjthif last a Ittvc crated btoi iaio ivntAiity bat (or
\ oaa, who had ten to May Ifawa the protection that far rarinc bad pm
to Mom? Who had ten— ttcll. a(htt faiau He riutchr d the hfarlf box apiait
be aould ae^er pat mCo words (or a his breast* sad prayed.
i riof tool, bgaote there were no words He wasn't, ordiaarily. fim to p r a ye r ;
to paint their ptet ur e . Just, riny ly, ao bat what coold a t rnaunt o( a man like
words. Jarl Harrey do bat pray? He was a
win naire the headqaarters.” be aararir laintfK . bat a aaracie uaper*
wfatspered. b y ymotiram hit dyinf aaad (oraied. a aaracie doe to happen, deep
to it matt go oo *'11 pt to the in the momaaint . if by ttill other, and
c oriananrfi nf pnrral. wborre r he it. I p reno w t aaracles. be coaU reach ihoae
wdl atake bin nder t t a ad. Bat. dear noaotaint. «
God. keep him from Ulk i in t I aat a»> One proycctilr. be thoagfat as be
taael Thoa knowest. Tboa art the only ttrock t^ pomtd hraeily. iastin c ti n l y
one Who knowest. that 1 am sane P pardinc the hktek box bis broken
Straifht cast, into the hifh mocaa- body, which hnded nearer than a nilr.
trim, thence to the catacombs^ jarl would destroy haa. It aaast not hap-
Hanrey loiew where the catacombs were. pen. How rbe coaU be tnnrfre. if God
Ko cmEan had crer. prior to the holo- ^ not help him?
caan, been alowed within a anie o(
them. Military lorti fi ca t ioat. they tatd. HE KNEW the YeOow Girdle was
secret from cre r yon e who did not wear marchiaf. (or be knew from the toondt
a unif orn^ Yet. he'd ben ia the cata* the cxp lo di a y proyectilct made— « kind
co^sfat. throo^i aH the a r onghold. and of panern. r ryhinc . prohmf op the loot*
knew where to (0 to find what be too(ht. hiSt, into the deep mroraamt, fa rl i n ^
He had always, tmee be coaid i cmu n- srith finprs of ttcci (or the bres of
her. done tNbp h^ was not t u pp o a e d .American soldiert — that they were a
tou Cariodty had led him er er y w be r e . c r eepint harrap. teat ahead to warn
Oiu iosity had rante d him to perieet the those in the mnumaint that Hdl was
Mack hn and the ttnnp. awesome approne hin i rikin f iu timr. boi ap>
meehanisra kutde k. p t nach i ng .
He tboofht ; "If I don't make it. and Thoatands. milSont of the toUcra.
it faBs into the hands of the Yelow Jarl Harrey, had ten tome of them.
Gbdfa ! \Vhat hideo o t p osm b i h ei et . dose at hand. Lait year, that had been,
when they alrendy arc to powerfal, as ahtk hit cariosity, and wfaitpert be had
aomberlrst as the mndt on the be a ch.** heard, had taken him deep mto the hia-
Ficreciy he drove it from his mind — re* terfand of ianer China— imo forbidden
prated hb h y pnot i c rrfriin tcrr itcry, to watch the YdJow Girdle
They were co m me . too. comiaf be- p rep ar iaf (or war. He'd come home,
hind him. mar t fain f to the hiSt. He wrkten ahoot k. and nobody bad be*
woold hare to work fast — nerer pawtr. fiered him.
nerer stop. Em had be ben in the Bat he did not (orpt. He knew
fastatt pim. fiyin( straiefat to his oh* those sotfe rt . Once, wkfaia the past
j ect i re. k wooid htre been too slow, tn years, thty had ben Japanese. Oa*
Bat be Irarried oaly oa bis itaaips of nese. Mongol. Tibctaa. Annamke. Ko-
legs — and that in karif was a a ara ci e. rean. Manchokuta. Torki. Someae.
" A shefl (ell. a mile array to his right. Indtan. Tartar. Sow aB were weided
It (ell in a rarine. and dK rarine ran* to get h er lo (orm the Yellow Girdle. And
kited. Jarl Harrey was 0«mg end orer each man was a waldag arsenal, a
end. away from tlae blaat that wo u ld- hi d enut nnrhinf of dcstroctioa.
1
. JASON SOWS AGAIN 71
It m bnaic o( far fa»d Mcn
lajt jrear tfaat far had woricrd io fakb-
fafljr oa.thr btkck box and iu iuidrv
And when hr had Hj c cr t d ed with fab
plan hr had told noor larc fan dmr
fricndi and rrbtivra. breamr all oth-
m wxmid ha«« bashed, and would havr
amt fain to aoor aiylaBi for tfar in-
aanr. Ont^ hu frimda rraSy knrw. and
«fan tanaly n and tfary were dead. Evm
they had fa th ered in that fr i g fatf ul .
hanaina. blade box. Now. even tfar
piecra oi them could not have been tep-
arated fnm tfar p iece* of th i xi*t i f* of
ether*, anrr a uoflr pro jroilr feO into
Marhrt Street, just afai^ the Ferry
Btaldin^.
How lonf a(o had that been ? Yean
—tom — yesterday It Bade no dd-
ft r r n c t . reaDy. wfam tiwK ttood sdO.
a(hait at afaysmal h orror.
On. (atftr and fatfrr. cow>-
mandrd the .\ j nerican annies? Hr Sd
not know. Nobody knew, west of the
Roddes. ndn* the Yrftow Girdle knew,
which was poaiifalr bec ana e the YcBow
Girdle knrw recrytfaiac. They xnat
know rrcrythinf, to fanve Mruefc ao
sorely at exactly the right moment to
cause the greatest bamc.
~I wdi saakr k. They've got to br-
beve me the brohen fanman thing
mo u thed 9ueer int w ia g s ou n ds
Thin-srhnnng things a onnd ed . far to
fan rigfat and hi* kfl t he drea dfn i buf*
lets of the YcQow Girdle. Jnst one of
those bullets, striking him any wh ere on
his persoB. would d ea t r o y all that he
wnuld do. Nobody wo ul d ever know.
Tfar Ydlow Girdle would not know,
perhaps, or ever find out — far the fanavy
fret of thousands wotdd pas* over the
black box. gr in dks g k into fragments,
grinding k kno the dust of agticjs rocks
already fine and gray from the faam-
mrring of heavy shells.
Hb pantin g breath was a sob. an end-
less sob. Only yewerday. as time ntnvcs
wfam there are no catadynoss. be had
farm a sch oolboy, and vraated to he a
• •
great general. Bm w fam far’d got out
of school he faadn^ been very itrang.
except foe fab brakt. which wsrrtknrs
frh as though k were too big far fab
body. He used fab brasa.
He used fab body imw, ain a ie d what
k coold do far ban. He used hb wiB-
power. amazed at ks n aighL
"But tfaib’t faccauie of my brain.~ be
told faktttcIL ‘'The brain b nsey Thing,
man’s pan of iafink y — and k b brain,
and infianty, or the spark of tfar divine,
that win defeat the Yellow Girdle in the
end. L'nleas the mrasion of the Yel-
low Gbdk b ia kadf an aa of an aveng-
kiggod.-
A COlWTRYSIDE covered wkh
s old i e r s. Cities leveled. pW of dwse
that hid thousands of h uma n bodies.
Marching feet through that dost, ow
those bodies, antil everything was dun
The world's faiggen fanalcfield to date.
And if the Yellow Girdle knew hb se>
cret ! If they knew, and believed, every
we ap on at their comman d, he was anre.
wotdd be trained thb ksstain on .the
scaggernag. stik-taitering figure crawf-
iag np the imamtiins i dr She a make
wkh a b ro km back. The YcOow Gb-
die if k kaew. would wiBingty sa crifice
many of ks milKons to slay hba. m
destroy or capture hb secret. The ler-
eiUy p owe r f id secret that yet codd not
Idl. or ma i m , or Vvt
Bat they didn’t know. To them if
any taw him at ail — he was simply a
fast of wreckage, a pasnmg ref n gee with
whom there was no need of betberisig.
unless sosM YcOow Girdle s oldier de-
cided to try fab markstnasufaip on the
wrecked body of jarl Hanry.
Jarl Harvey mi^ have bem a br ethc r
of Daryl Strang, by hb looks — if aa oh-
s e r v er could bavc icm eye* where there
were no eyes, and known that they had
bem bkse ; cnuld have tern that the bab.
matted w^ bloo d and dirt, was ahnast
red. But they were not brothcra, and
14
ASTOUNDING SCISNCB-FICTION
nrkhrr bad cjrr hard the aatrte <4 the
•Cher. Hsorr did ooc kaow that Stna(
vas the jeneraJ of the annics. (or the
^jcctiles <d the YeOow Girdle had
d r opped a mootfcr. eboa cartain be*
r we en the dnattated areas — azxl those
«bo iu r » f « ed in then — «ad the areas to
mbkh the hoits of ref u ge es aad the
reanaact of the araiT had Sed. For all
Jarl Hareer really kaow. all the Utatcd
hCaics OBgia he bat a coeaiaaatioa of
the nix& frovn tthitli he was fleeiog.
That be would have to £somr.
Eom passed Maar of tbeai. Sooad
was aorab aad thoogfac was dead, aad
there was ao fe el in g at all — simply the
arge to cootie u e. oo aad oo. as fast as
be could go. Thought was dead — but
that h ypaodc urge it had graecn deep
ia bis mied. before it failed, worke d adl
ow the amowMtoa be was
A riSe ballet smacked a rock aear
hsao. fiaaDy. He beard the souad of the
ee pi nsi oa. aad has heart ha aun t red with
eaesteasc B t. That was a S pri a ghe l d
rifle, ^est amdrl. aad aa .^awricaa sol-
dier was bsteg oo him. It woold be
iraoscal if he should base c o ca tbee far
osdy to be shot by hb own. But he
dMa't blame the soldier for brag, for
who cooM tril what sort of borror he
aaght br. sent to d estr o y then by the
YrBow Girdle*
Ter' or sras behind that rifle, he knew
— aad was gratefnl for thir knowledge
— die t^'sbei woold not base nuMed
it had-bm brH by seneooe bind with
terror, so that far coold not abgo his
sights, by somrosK shakinf with aa ague
of horror, so that hr coold not hold his
rifle arady. And for this Jarl Harsry
sras gtad. '
He tried to cry oot. then rtateaibrrTd.
Hr leased the blaek box aloft with both
ba n d s , for one alooe could oot hold k.
Hr sobbed his rehef that the armirs of
bis owa people were o^w so cfooc.
Oese. yea Eka the army «f the e ne my
sras d^. too.
Flaars flrw oser. dripping bomba
Jarl Harvey fisrd bec aa ^e be sras wo
small a target they did not sraste a bomb
npoo him thoogh. bad the flyers
kaosra. they srodd base c o o c tat rated aB
their aaipfaats oo him. to make sore
that he sras dead.
AD about him sras srar. buOcta hooiba.
gaa But he had cocne through this tar.
arid basing c o me ao far be kaesr that
no bullets of his fricods could prwsiWy
slay him.
Finally he heard Eaghsh wor ds , good
o^fashiootd. emphatic casssmrds. and
be sroold hasY wept tears of joy had
be been physically a^. Bat one Deeded
eyes if ooc sroold sreep. Htary han d s
grasped hiaL Harsh roices commented
oo bis lack of feet, of Angers, and of
ryes. One soice asked him ; “How in
bnsea did you get here, srithout being
able to »ee? IMwre are yew from?
^^'hat's that yoe’re higgia*?^
HE TRIED to tefl than, thro re-
membered the thing he had forgottess.
He opened hb mouth and let them look
into it, turning all the way arotaad.,so
that they could see.
Hb longue sras goor. too. Bat he
didn't miod that, becaase be sras so
close to victory, aad so he laug hed, and
hb iaagbter aiade the soldiers shodder,
aad cfaiHt to race along their s pine s . It
made them draw pictures of borror in
their minds — piet ur rs of the s cca es
tbrfagfa srhich this trssesty of a maa
had passed.
~He*s got something i m por t ant M
say. Lirutetant.** said one voice , 'so
let's get him back to hesdf srters.
Though how he’s going to tell, wkhaot
a tongue, or srrite what he has to say
without fingers. I don't kaow. But if
he came all the srar here f r om m y drrr
below the mountains, there bn'i aoy*
thing he can't dol 1 wsxsdc r where he
did come from.”
Hands haabled srkh his coat, iosasd
the name of his tailor irsidr oa the
pocket.
a taagm tm
sftak. kmt oalj aa imoStm-
srrr. harmlesa btack eaaa
—thU wnck of a m
waa to defeat the
Yefiom GUdht
JASON SOWS AGAIN
Brokeo—a ti
“Sm Fnaaaoo! It jut isil fmm
Ue? Were 70a Bke thk wbeo 70a left
'Frixo. boddjr?^
Jul.Han^ nodded, and frinned.
and OCX of the loldiera told hia not to
(Tin— that be ooolda*t itaad it. One of
thrm tried to. take the black box. bat
be ckaaf 10 it nidi aoefa fierc e traar i t y
that tbe bands fefl anay.
*Tbe box has tnmfrinii f to do sritb
k. sir,“ said one of tbe soices. "I hope
be ain't a YeOon Girdle spy. and that
withomt £mfe
n
ASTOUNDINO SCISNCB.nCTION
ain^ a boob blow the BK wi nfaia
ool of ka bokr
. -JaH Harrqr <Sda't Wamc tfacn for
bcM^ ^**p^*^** of c Fcrj^bfo^ cvcb of
taw fipcriaffy of Iwn— for be kaew
what the blade box loohed Bex. and what
ISKXBCWK UUI^B lUMU OC IBUIJC II ml
aodi a box. He Sdt mea lean afxmat
bia, pot tbeir cars acaiojt the box. to
fatra for aoonda. and bx was
ftad that tberx via aooe. For bad
tbere been, they’d bare broken the box.
to bx oa the aafe aide.
*li(t'a pot lini oa a am dicr. Gftx
baa a by^ doc. ao be can ttaaid k the
rea* of the wayV
He a c ce pted the atreteber gn ttlu Bf,
BH K K ISc lljpCs BBKX pcwpocg
ao beroe. crea to bkoaelf. aad ao atanw*
wkb baa empty mooih. that they didn't
jrae ban the hypo, after alL
• TWy carried bin aariftly in the
arcteber. and be waa reaaoaably fiappy.
tbon(h,ahcla feO dcae. aad they talked
of a dood of (ray (aa tlat waa rBmfan f
op the Bomaainiade befakad them, a peed-
ia( tbeir atepa^ Men were kiOed bcaide
hit atreteber. and other men look their
phexa . oDcooce r ned. Death waa aocon»>
mo n p la c e that men accepted k. now, aa
lurccaae from (reatxr horror.
He proteated when they atarted imp
the catacoen ba wkb him. and they adsed
him ^ weati o n a to which be coaU antwe r
by a ahake of the bend or a nod.
"Wane to aex General Daryl Stranfr
He didn'^ know Stranf. so be didn't
nod or ibake bis bead.
"Warn to tee the (ooeral of the
armies?"
He nodded. Then be aSd off the
stretcher when t o meone west to fetch
tbe-fcneraL He h ook ed the Mack box
ander hb teb arm. CiffatJy. Then be
d r opped to bis kneea. cra nled all abooc
the bat of the mranxa i n . cndl be fotmd
a ki( dear apnoc wh ere the ( ro tm d araa
dnwy eitcwfb to r et ai n the marks be
moat make.
HE WROTE in the dam wkb Ms
f iffat hand, baft, two- fee t -hifh lettera,
so that all coaid read.
“Tht fox’ wart hr pnorM with all
aar liner wnfil 7 karr daar my workt
It it tmr r a fn a h' a a / It nwanr drfaat
f*r tht tmtmjr
Some of the aol dif ra laa(bed. Some
jeered. How co ul d soefa a amaB box be
a nation's sahatioa? How cotdd a past
ao bopdesaly arratbed aad bto k en briaf
esboot tbe'dcfeat of the YcOow Girdle?
"Let the doc bare him. or teas him
to the aqnirTeia.'' said a fannHar voice.
"Maybe be thinlrt be'a the m t rade tbit
Strang asked for! The Old Man will
have oar hides for taking up hia time
with a not like this."
Harvey, batenmg. vrroie aga^
"He win Mesa yoa vrkh every breath
he Irvea to draw from the m exae n t yoa
bring bka to meP
"The g«y meat think he's Alexander
come to Bkr,'* mid another. "I'm tell-
ing you, if the Old Man knea hia An-
gora on acc o tair of thia horrard. we'd
all better stand tmder the next Girdle
pfaae that goes over, aad catch the
boo^ in oar mootha. GetMmamyP
Ba came the heavy tread of amhcir-
ky. The feet of a master aad bis staff.
’ And a voice Jarl Harvey waa to bear
of te n in the days aad nigfata to\one
s n ap ped: "Wbm is all this, aaybow?
If I've been broogfat here on a fooTt
errand—'’
Bm Strang broke abort off when he
saw tbe hmnan tra v est y — who was writ-
iog again, vrrkiesg fnrioatly with the
attnap of hia right hand
Vaykr / mn yowr ■irodr. Thrrt it
• wmy t* fmi «wT. 7 mast korr a roam
t» ayarff. mamsdiaUty. 7 awat karr a
fax af any aur. to tomf os it it
thorn six hy thrtt, omd dstytr thorn two
jstt. a uid e tkot room. Ths fax mast
roltom eom f omsmts — 300 pawnfr
omy form t ht oimo U r moo ts ,
(• md imtit$—omd mast ho aiodo
Yoae thtmitis nvS krnom
n
JASON sows AGADf
'Amd kM tkr fnfmy «0 ftsit •mtil I
tm rrtdy.
"liop lo kr WMfpcJ DW 7 I Stnaf
to bn amued itaff. cm;,
b(< imjtjc H«<m has test u a miracle
after alL And forstsh faain «ith exes
and rrkh toch thi&fs at be seeds. Asd
lake care of that box. whatercr k is.
whaterer k holds f*
And is spite of the fantastic kspos-
sibilkj mbeiest in cre r r circtmtasce
turr ou s di sf Jarl Haircy's arrfral.
there was aametfais( su spi ci oo i ly bke
hope in the tpoe of the (CDeraTs eoice.
III.
Tkf Ust lUmy ikt rrsuaat wroU. bt-
j*rr ke tmi itUt tkf 4*rk rtoas lluy
srt ajidt jar Um. mu u mysirriams at
tkf BUM amd kit bas. “I umat abta/mJf
frirmfy. t 9a im atama. eaaia amt ^ame.”
What did a Mad aua uaai aj a dark
raam * 9at Jlramg kad_ itsmad tatm-
•mamdt. amd Ikay did at tbay mere bid-
dam. Amd lari Hareay ebatf la kit
Mack bar. ttrmi imta tka raami alama.
Tkay kmaw ka did. far tama aj Ikam
ttayad amtnda la maka rare amd be-
eamta Ikay were cmriamt. amd it tear am
aicmta mat la waltk tka Aamyktrr im Ike
faatkiBi.
Jari Haevry meat imta tka dark raam.
maar tka m«atk aj tka amtramee la
Ika falaeatmbt. mkifk a kamdfiekad
ymard kad ra w e d mamU merer be yatted
by a taUiar aj Ika YeMaw Cirdia atkiU
ama aj itt nmtmber brad.
.\nd for baff an boor those ootsade
the door svesdered srbat Harrey dad
there. Wondered asd waked. Bat the
YHfov Girdle did sot wak. Ameridui
soldiers were e s eryfa e te . aider coier.
psardinc aO entrances to the ttroa(hold.
They had Gtsle stron g holds of their own.
and frosn them, while Jarf Hartey
woderd in the sadst of bbek oystery,
they watched the warplanes of the Yel-
low Girdle spin oiethead. *'
Roenbs dr opped on str ongpo i nts. and
h u n dr e ds of^men ranishrd w hen the
bomba rtmefo Pieces of them acattered
along the moonaisside. .American
plaaes of aB makes — and swift as hawks,
ba bke whe ebng . filled buzzards when
com pa r ed to the planes of the Yellow
Girdle — pl ung ed into the thidc of the
enemy pfanes. and fongfat ontil they
bomed and IrB. or their pilots were abac
to death.
Numbly, grimly, the soldiers on the
giTMod wa tc hed the fights orerhead.
where friends and eneiiaea ci rcl e d the
crags, dtred along rarines. dropped
*".<t ** srkh machkir gwii and
eren wkh crates t hemsel res. for often
American crates, their pilots de spair ing
of em er gin g riciorioas. dired strught
into the bodies of enemy plann. if only
to prove that k was pos s i b le for tbe
cntm i to die.
And the Americans knew that aB this
winged l » eroe ove r head, so thick that
often the fight of the snn was hidden,
was ba a pe tto dc to the mm i n g af the
millions Projectiles w er e clriring the
way. Bombs from a b ov e were clearing
the vray. And when the foot t r oopa
came, uid ma r ched over the d efcn d e ia
—dying by t bo n sands , ba never panting
in their nurefa t h e attack by bnman
beings "tpci other hnmin b e mgs wmdd
be as an attack by myriads of focnats on
fields of snccnlea new gram.
Hcfl was overhead, ghastly, oibchev-
able hefl. Ba k was as nahin g oons-
pared to wha was yet to come.
And in the dark room the man of
mystery, whose name none in the moas -
taitts yet I mcw. £d what he had enme
to do. behin d locked doors. VTby be-
hind locked doors? \Vu he afraid that
bis secret vroold be stolen ? By whom?
Or was he afraid of faibtre that he did
not wish anyone to sec?
It was something for nu m bed m inds
to wrestle with, to keep them from re-
membermg bow borribiy doae oras
death.
n ASTOUNDING SCISNCE-FICTION
S ow t how JiH Harvey had made them aaioaf the Erinc. aad Uay ihrsv. too.
aodentaod vrhat be mated, so that the Aad be saw, with a t r im face, bow tew
Uack Wxx. that looked Eke a iarfe oofia of the Yellow Girdle fefl. because they
bllrd with a ttraasc h od e e-pod^e of were w> mu c h faster, so mu ch better
aateria] — foods aad rodcs. ore aad am anaed. If a Yellow Girdle phaes pilot
— had a heavy lid. aad wires of several even ifaactd at the pilot of aa Ameri-
lam ran ioto the weird miatare. Aad caa ptaae. that pilot iefl.
the wires were cooaected with drwaaso*. Booths from heavy YcOow Girdle
aad taaQ stods oo the blade box. ptaaes were dropped ia spite of all the
Jarl Harvey prayed that his s t ta nps Aataiaas ooeld do. becaase the boosh*
of haads be sensitive enoij(h. and tte ers h a d such owyn' * escorts of
what he had door would prove what be bfht pursuit planes that traveled, at
wbfaed it ta If k did, Jarl Harvey a fuess. four huadred awles aa hour,
would five afaia. and Booibs burst in the midst of Aatersc a a
But be refused to tcQ even t wa a el f soldiers, and left only peat capinf botes
that the in if ade was ccitaia. for now in the moutttamride. The e tou ni a itts
that k was so dose to the haal test be themselves trembled, and the roof of
was filled with terror. Those men oat- the catacombs swayed bade aad forth,
side were filled with terror, but aB the The el ec tr ic fifbts bfarred. aad threat*
terror of all of than t hr ough wboui be josed to gu out.
had passed was as aoth iBg compared to Daryl Strang sent words of encour*
the (error that Jarl Harvey M as he agement to hts tycrv
went ahead writh what he had to d^~ Fight on. Reenforoements are com*
as be fianbGngty opened that box. then mg. Plans are being made to bdp you V
set k down, aad began a slow c ir c tik Lktle could be done to bdp those
of the dark room. aO alooe. to find out aloft, but what did it matter that be told
ks d ifnfnwoc. s. To fumble at the cofEa- them anyhow, since they were doooaed
Eke box. to touch the wires, and curse to die? Let them die in the belief that
horribly tmdrr fats breath becaase be their caase. ia ipke of all. vrotdd ease rge
could not be sore that wfaai his stamps trimnphant .
of hands told him eras what bit fing e rs Aad to the thous a nds of so ldiers ia
would have told lam if he had not lost ttrotsgholds on the fiaaks and s h o u l d era
them. of the SDOuntaini. and doww to the foot*
hOb — who amst wkhMand the ma r ch ing
FIN.\LLY. when sure — or as nearly milBcm who were now to horribly dose
sure as be could be. ia the ci maw s finr cs — Daryl Strang said ; "Hold them uadi
—that eve r y possibilky of error had you «Sr. And even as you die, fight on
been era di ca t ed, be ret am od to the black if you can.”
box on the floor. He ret ur ned to k uo* A wild, foohsh. impostibie thing to
err ia gl y , as thougfa be had been able da But to youth all things were pos-
to see k. w hi ch, perhaps, he <Sd in the sible. aad yomh b e li eved k. and yooth
ryes of his souL Or maybe be co u n t ed tried to make k coene true, because youth
seeps frsm k. aad aroemd k. and back coownaadrd k — arvd youth b eh r i ed ia
agaao. Daryl Straag.
And while be' worked. Gcssenl Daryl Some h ow, anyhow, America mutf
Strang sat before fats tcie v ijfo a paadt. bold. If pushed bade, she must fight
and w atched the w ar p taises of the Yd* for every predo u s inch of ground. To
low Girdle w h ee l about ove r he ad , the tcesning miSiems be hi nd the Roddes
Watched plinei of has own c orranaad he bad but cme coemnand to give — whiph
fight to the death, aad Se, aad faB seemed hopdess, even to Strang as be
JASOM SOWS AGAIN 7f
care k. “Fiad tfaeker ia the deepest
cares, and stay there T
For he kaew. aad they knew, ihtf
the deepest cares can could reach ooold
be pralM bjr the (sSme boenbs of the
coemy who had already dropped death
aad destractioa on er er y dty east of
the Roddes. It «as only a question of
timr. Straac kaew. vfam the YcQow
Girdle wooVJ lue pbaes to drop seddiers
throucb all the coontry east of the
Roddes.
Rot until that time came
He could only hcht as best be. knew.
.\ad he had. by now. for g ot t en the' maa
withoai eyes, fincers. feet, tooc n e
AND IN that dark room, with a Idnd
of prayer on his lips. Jarl Haney took
what i ee m ed to be a cube of metallic
irOr that glowed with a strance. soft
Efbe. Deep ia k. the knace of a tiny
fausnan 6fure (lowed mofe stronfly.
Gently he set k down. Fnmbfmc. he
prrsaed wencthinc in the box. and des-
perately cairn. stiO half sdf-hypesotued.
restored the (fowinc jelly.
Then, as one mho waked in terror
for some new. wmainable catastrophe,
be backed acaksst one srall of the room
and kstened. Listened to the wbtsper-
inC k> the box. To the whisperinc
the soft cradde of raricoio^ Sames
be could not see — yet once had seen.
\M ni pe r i n c — whisperinc. dr aw in c m-
ertber. coaksdne. as c ur re nt s played
throuefa ^ boa and ks asaoeted con-
tents. Mtrades pse birth to other mir-
acles. and those irho Estened ootside
the door woesdered if they were mad.
A resthne rifaratson sdtTcd and shifted
in the assorted stuff in the box.
flo w i n c * "7* ^^om the lens of the
camera-tbinc-
They heard a ltd more, they thooebt
— pertiaps the Ed of the m ys terio u s box.
They baud a hcakfay. har^ voice map:
the hell is this, anyhow? 1^‘hm
am I? How did I get here?"
Eavesdroppers svrallosrcd.
b e aria c the voice from a room vrhich a
fam cu e l e st man had entered alone. And
vnth k. as thouch in answer, a n iew En c
sound, oddly like the sosmds faEnd kk-
lens made.
'What h thatr said the voice.
'What's that wfaiinn c? Wlio or what
are yon? What f u n ny business is c*>-
inc on?"
Came the mewEnc sound acaia. catxs-
inc eerie chtHs alone *be spines of dm
eavesdroppers, vrfao. suddenly, wero
none too snre that the days of m ir acl es
were no more — that vritcfacrait was a
frand. lior could they u nderst an d this
voice's mranitic >*>y more than they
could tmderstand wty there u«r a voice
— where only the mewfinc sound tnadc
sense.
"Oh. I ^ k. finally.'' said the voice
softly. ~ Bat vrhat son of d um p is this,
anyhow? It im'l the 'Frisco place, is*
k? WcQ. why donl yoa answer me?
Get me out of here, can't you? Who's
there, if anybody ? Where are you 7"
There was. for a Ettle time longer,
the voice, and the usewEst c mund. and
there was iMryect i inc . and p^n. in the
tatter. Then the door opened and a
man came into the Egfat. The soldiers
hsenag at the door **sd s wor e.
and those who vme Iri^ amoof them,
and beli e v ed in the fey. crossed them-
selves.
IV.
Fsr rkr m«a JW War ryrr, and kr
had haadr aad frrf. He had a taapar.
aad f Ar gift af pah. alcsaajiy. He war
gte M ar a frimte ritura, rrra fa the
rharr.
But tku w«r why ike sMi ers rrarrrd
tkfiBuhet: Tke yrsnsfr rstun. aridr
fnm tk»u diferrmees. war Ike teme
wiretk ef a ama wda had feme mte ihet
reem — aad rasarkaw perfeemed a aiir-
tUmthimtetf. Amd tkefd kme trmed
dtewuehtt tgem. ^ tke meedt af tke
ASTOUNDINO SCIENCS-FlCnON
•MB Imd mtmi to tium mikmt it bmmI
to dU SMB Utttm.
«r# ym mmfij stmimg atf Fm
Jtri Htnry. tmd Fvt d^mt «m* Mmf
% U frpcr myu^. Bnt I dom’t kmamtckert
I oi, mar kate / — i kafprm to hr ktrrF
Hii tmamtk smmlrd tkitm, kmi hit ryes
terre ttU mt hr wrmt rm. “Bmt /
wmmUm’l. »f trnmru. Thirty trtomdt *90
'/ wmtm’l • atam—jmti tmrmt mmd ytrha^r
ami dirt, hy thr locii «/ Ihtm^s.’'
SrtmrmBy. they tham^ hr was j«k-
The aotern t r vbo called btmsdf
JaH Harrcy carried tbe Uack box fitxt
broa^bc fby the ejrias ooe — vfao ap-
peared to h^«e easbbrd.
"Stay out oi that room." laid Jarl
Harrcy. "It idn bolds a secret that
most be kept."
For a prfrate rititen. be •ecsaed
b oaay, aad they were p erp a rtag to re-
sent bb orders — if be bad c om e ia a
normal way.
^"Take me to your cbiel chemist." he
said, "or yoor scsentific {cninses. or
"'A'hat yoo want to sec. Karrey." said
a corporal, "is tbe Chief Pbotopapfaer.
NVbat's chemistry or baBi stirs or (as
•rarfaretodo withphoto(Tapby? That’s
a e am er a yoo (ot there, aiat k?"
"Yes. it is. in a sray." said Jarl Har-
vey st rat>( ely. ".\ad maybe I should
MC tnc nCM pnoco^ripcMr. i
wfaat I have in min d doesn’t fit any-
tfainf. really, that any of the people
you're men t i or se d hare anythinf to do
with, ^\'hat't h ap pened, anyway?"
Obviously, there was no sense to k.
Those who had seen Jarl Harvey fo
• into the dark room alone eecrpt (or a^
boa filled with a mad misoeHany of food-
staffs and metal — and ret u r n to the
mooth of the rnsmmhs half an hour
la te r could make nothio ( of k. Sdll.
in an army srhere rverytkiac vras heker
shelter, you were focky if you knew your
own name.
Jm thr dark rwoas thr fmrrr tajt fmmtt
th^ rtm throng thr ctfaUtr fiw, /forrd
my mmet. f ar w u tfy— at thrmyk mO
twiUhrt hmd trrm thrptem m, to Iwm
tmmirihmy ia thr frmtrs. A farrr.
mrwtimg trmmd, mith yrtm ia it, Utird
frr m jrw treomdt. Thrm *B mar dark
rmd siZrat, tmd thr famrs SHrr grmr
imla drrkmru.
And so. for a brief time, the dark
room was lost to the mad a eq o en c e of
events, and in the rararomb s a renewed
Jarl Harvey became a part of the army.
He was a man srkfa a p ur peae. and with
a ttnbbom win — as befittcd_cee who
could vrale miles on the sttmsps of feet.
fochn( his way becaose be had no ryes.
He asked to be taken to the Qaef Pho-
to(rapfaer, and there was something
shoot fakn that made men jmnp. rren
men who were his seniors.
Tbe Chief Pfaotofrapfaer was a colo-
neL He loohed op. after a time.' as Jarl
Harvey stood before hb desk, slouch-
inf a Enle.
"Stand at attcctioer snapped the
coloocL
"Why?" said Hyvey. "I’m a civil-
bn. who cares about ttandinc at
attention when a nabon b in danger?
If what they tefl me b true Here.
take a look at thb camera."
He placed the black box on the colo-
neTs desk. Tbe moenrain shook as.
half a mile overhead, the YrOow Girdle
dr opped a prob in f bowih. More b o m ba
were dmppinf now, atsd the barrace had
moved op the face of the mountain to
the very feet of the csrsrombs.
Colonel Holcomb. Fibs Hotcamk.
looked at the black box. poshed k
away.
"That's no e am era." be said. "What
arc you tryinf to puO ou me, an y how?
Aad bow did a eivilian (ct into the
K r oB(bold? That bra b— take k out
of here, or IH caS the guard and have
you thrown into the guarAouw."
"It seems." said Jarl Harvey softly.
JASON SOWS AGAIN tl
“that Gcnen] Daryl Scnaf. a cc y t' &B g
!• taSc Vvc beard liace 1 arrmd. has
tit man ded a iniracfe. I*a tbe axrade.
Thr name b Jarl Harrcy."
“Kerer beard o< k! Where froa?"
-Trbcor
“Aad wfaat do yoa wbh of waeT*
“Only that you keep quirt ke>c cnoa(h
to Ebten to me for fire iwinBtrt, «Ue
I tell yoQ, ia ttrkt confidence, aboot tbb
camera which yoo my ts not a camera,
*^en thnotand men win die in fire
nainotes. Harvey T '
“Ten milSon will dir. who aa if far oth-
erwise fire, if yon doat fiAes! And
dooT caO me crary until Twe desm-
ttratcd what I hare to aay."
THE COLON'EL cat Uck. puttac
fab fioftrs tofetbrr oner fab cheat. Jarl
Harvey bejaa to CTfihfn the secrets of
the black box. He hadn't vpotm a lam-
dred words before the co l onel was Iran*
inf {orward. as though to rise from fab
desk in fury. Hb face was a'fiety red,
fab eyes s ho i ixin g fiamn
“1 won't fasten to soc fa “
“Shot upP said Jarl Harvey tensely.
“You're fast mine to the truth, wfaidi
amarcs you only farcanse tfab partimhr
truth b new to you. I swear to you that
the c am eta will do exactly what I say
k win, aad that lH p eoie k P
“You're a bfit b e rim Earl You're a
nfiiiir fttta snOQXi DC iocjcpg op i
"But just s u ppos e, colonel.** Harvey
btermpted sof^, “that ev er y word !
said were true? Would you take ax
So the general, so that I could place the
camera and.ks seems at hb disposal ?"
“He'd place me latder arrest as an
idiot, (or even Ihrening to you."
“Not if yon swore that you had wit-
nessed a demon it ra tio p. c olo nel . Lis-
ten. pby ban wkh me lor a few hours
“You're taBdug of men out of tfac
Arabbn Kigfacs ! Or men la aightmares.
Of a«ea who never w e re ~
“Nctfaing of the sort. l*m talcing of
AST— •
nataraL norsal men, that’s aB. Aad
as far wh etfatr they have fathers or
mot her s, aB I can say b thb: the fa-
thers and mothers they dakn for their
own would be the last to deny themP
“But the man who came here, to the
fortifications, whom you say had \iio
eyes, no feet
“/ am that mm. My sweetheart op-
erated the black box at my instruction.
coloneL And when tfac ^ so. I had
eyes, aad fingers, and feet, and a tongues
‘That's why I "
"It's absurd. Bqt— oh. Lord. Jlar-
vey. if k were osjly irueP
“If k prov es to. sb. bowi long would
k ta ke y uur men. with tbe aid of the
chem i ca l branch, to bosld an int e f rato r
— let ns caB k— capable of bol din g a
battafion. or a regiment , or even a
brigade?"
*Tfaat would be no mbade. Harvey.
We can do that. Not canly, but we
can do k. Fust, thongh. the proof."
"There b sdB t^metbsng in the box
in the dark room.^ S s^ pose you follow
me. now! But first, a^ your own per-
sonal Ofd tr l y to stand stiB a mo-
ment, against tbe wafl opposite you. He
b your p roof. If veont take a s ao me n t ."
The orderly b a cked against the waB.,
fab eyes po p p i n g. He di^'t know what
to expect. Jarl Harvey ai med the bbek
box at hkn, apparen tly took fab pictare.
“My s o pp fai are Bmiieel. cd oo c L lo
what I was abb to beiag vrkh me ia thb
apparatus. Wei need i nruiergn ble ba-
presmon cubes.
"They’re aaaterbL ao we can aahe
than. Give me one for our acientbts
"11 write down the formula far theb
making, cofaevel. to save time. Afl yonr
men have to do b follow k earefoDy,
and they most make no dEsiakca what-
ever, even to the aalEomh of an inch.
Now, if you vrifl go wkh me."
1 OC CDiOHtIo Bn iBOc VoDC, OKS VtKHC
Cipreimnn showing that be haU b ci bved
be vraBced wkh a hmatb aad didn't ex-
■2
ASTOUNDING 8CISNCB-FICTION
acdjr know wtat to do aboot k. started
off with Jarl Harrcy. Hb otd crty itS
ia bcliind hiBL Jarl Harrry mapped at
the serjeaaL
“Better stay here, if yoo don't want
to be scared oat o(, a year's p^rwth T
V.
Tbe r/rpe^ looked oayry. ha lie
eolorW. jifUmg t» exfrtu kit rrrsyao-
lioa. fttturtd for bns to rrmoio btkimd.
Hxrrxj gmj Ikt eolone/ ruterrd Ikr dxrk
roots. «4irr Ifmvty ttvrked neiftly —
or ke rooXd rnrfl do. keetmte be had off
bir farafrier. Tan aiea. tbe roloael oad
Hxrrry, armt mto tbe dorb room oad
taekfd tkt door.
Tkrte aea camx oat. The faet of tbe
eoloae/ aor dead a^e. bu eyer roAisy.
/orf Harpry ttet yrioatay. ond bir fore
anr aligkt attb triamfk.
“Wefl, colonel?" said Harrey.
“I'ra rrary. not yoaT said the colo>
aeL “Bat ahu do yoa want aom ?“
“Order yoor men to boild. at top
speed, the bifyest tateyralor possible.
Xoc in the stroachold — in some open
place aherc the troops can be masMd
at oae time onder socne tort ol camoo*
Baye. I'ee no need to trll yoa that speed
b eteTythint.“ *
Colo^ Holcooib. chokinf. stopped
commands at the third man. who laced
Icli. smartly, and Started (or the colo*
itel's othee. Holcomb looked after him..
“He didn't ask a 9DCition. Harteyl
He knoas ahere to Jo!”
“Ol coarse. coioaeL He's your or-
derly. Yoa selected Ixiffl because he did
kssms hb aay aroatsd.“
“But exc that — that Oh. hrfl.
vhai's the use? Kow what do yoa
araat?"
“To |o srith yoa to Gersrral Scrar{.
to see boa thiets are coiac. Then, as
sooa as the ficaatic integrator b ready,
m tell yoa ahat aril do nrxt. Re-
aiemher now, plcn(T ol impressioa roles.
made at top s p e e d a bi{ integrator,
dose to some level place where a yreat
nomber ol troops can be muttered."
"AD rifh*. to tbe general first, bat —
don't aay anything tttiti] — tmcil— **
“Forget ahoat it. colonel." said Har-
vey. griaBiag. “I don't sraai to be ac-
crued ol bei^ ciaxy aay more than yoa
do— nor ol haring deiiriran tremezur*
Side by side they strode to the main
post ol co m m and- Coiocsrl Hol c o m b,
entering, asbzd that his assistant. Jarl
Harrey. be aOoaed to stay dose to him.
General Strang stared at Harvey (or a
(ea seconds. There rras a light ol rec-
ognition in hb eyes. Harrey looked
bade at hisn steadily, (or Harrey did not
know him at aD. had never seen him.
And Strang set the strange iOusaon that
be had seen Haney somraherc down to
some ragne mcniblance. The eyeless
one had aD hot passed Irom hb memory.
For the YeO^ Cmdle rras p fnirylin g
at tbe very gates ol the calacaahbs.
Strang had ordered hb flyers oat ol the
air. rather than aDoa them to go to sore
death. He had orde r ed drihans to the
cast to find what coser they coold. and
lo’ptay. .He was going to bb the hie
ol tbe nation on his ability, in a series
ol mosmiain (ortrtsscs that eng in eers ol
yesterday had ke b e s vd impreg n able, to
hold cat lor an indefinie period d lime.
NOBODY noticed when a man in
chrOiaa clothes — Harrey— qoietly took
hb place srhere hr. loo. coidd sec ahat
was gomg on. Strang was trying to
watch eserything at once, by tekrrision.
and Harsey cook] hare asknl (or noth-
ing bener. For thos. in a lew minntes.
he coold tee the (hspoutioa ol govern-
ment troops aloog the entire fine — and.
at afinost the same time — boa the ersemy
troops bred.
The catacoaibs srere a vast, cisdless
labyrinthr the sobd rock ol tbe moms-
tain boltrcsscd with r dni occed concrete
to a thsrkness ol (orty feet — stresses of
afl Idods figured to the hairsbreadth.
JASON SOWS AGAIN tS
aad aOoviaccs nade for rr tr j pc—ibic in all direoxos. tfaook with the eiplo-
rootiafcacT'. erea to a aodden a pl u r y
ot N'atwrc's mcnfai o laiiWiin. Harrey
knew, ia a matter of wirondt, that even
if the moontamt were blowa to hita ahoot
the cwtacomba, the btter had a fair
chaace of wirri T io t.
The world** BXMt nearly perfect for-
trca* — whicfa wa* a aeries of foetretae*.
stroofer ercn thaa the mcamtain* ia
whach they were boilL Great sbooiders
of mooataia* r eache d oat toward the
ene my bke the fetepaw* of moottcrs.
and ia^each of them were rTtem a on a of
the cat a com b*, (arrisooed by xndc
troop*. Becaote thoae troop*, in the
fore fr cot. most bear the b ru n t of the
wu i n onahafht — the mnppint op by the
Yeflow GirdHl'^ 'Hnbcnea. Redotdaa.
rifled There wa*n*t»appareat)y. a foot
of space an aloec the i ia:*intain raafe —
or that pan of the aatioa’* ba rk hone
actwaSy within the United State* — that
wasn't capable of apo t dla c its bit of
death assd destmctioa. Aod eeery re*
doubt, every impl a rrm ent. e v er y stroof-
poiot. wa* in f m i t i o n to be co e ere d by
anywhere from three to foor others. In
oC^ wotd*. w hoeve r atta c ke d a civcn
stronpw i nt mast do so noder the fire
from three or foor other*. It didn’t
seem po*rtdc that hamn bein(s coaid
even tkmk ot at t a dd m locfa a place.
Yet there was proof cr>oa|K ricfat at
the base of the mooataias, that the Yd*
low Girdle was doiaf k. knew what it
was ioiof, aad wasn't too frcatly ooo-
ccmed aftoi k. There was lomrthi nt
so horribly fstabsric aboot the sol diers
of the YcQow Girdle.
A h u ndred — a thonianil Yellow Gir*
die bombers Hrcaked aoosa the moms*
taint op* from north to sooth, back and
fonh (ram cast to west, dr oppiof bomb*.
One sia ff e bomb Wrack a gr ea t prom*
ons o cy of Hone and the p r omon t o ry.
Eke a boose of cards. feD inio du st y
w racka fe. aad the mntmta i n , for miles
And no sooner bad the bomb exe-
cuted tbb Crigfadnl havoc. Idliiag every-
body. aataraDy, who mighi have bca
tnsi^ that promootory. than goas horn
the coast bracketed the place, and
probed in the meu for aaytbiag that
might retna m aEvc, for any man-made
cavern node r the rains that might bold
the breath of Efe for as many as one
Aasericaa soldier. So the bomb* de*
ttroyed. aad the projectile* frta the
coast probed thror^ the debris left by^
the bo m b*. The p ro j ect i le* s di red the
c ar non left by the bonibs, to make snre
that k wOdcad.
A whol e mnuntain dsoofcfrr slid into
a great canyon, so that where the s bah l
der had be^ aad the can y on bad betss,
there was neither ca ny on nor sho ulde r ,
bat a mas* of stone, aad dust deeply
piled over the dead.
The bombers were h yin g dow n their
barrage, ^ad the long range gun* were
hying down their*. Aod far bdow the
h« of the mwmtain the s ol dier* of the
Yellow Girdle were resting, w ak mg tor
their torn. Aad from every coign of
vamage wklaa rmige. Unde Sam’s sol-
dier* po ur ed big sfaefit aad Eltk shclt
inm tte sol dkrs of the YcOow Girdle.
Harvey saw them die by t hons a nds , ■»*
der tfam bail of metaL He taw s wr rirar s
bant for co v er , tew the c o v er blasted
inco dost. TV whol e thing was as
though the mramtaia kadf w er e explod-
ing, yet a om tb ow icwminin g approxi*
futf f ly whole.
Only once before in the htWocy of
these moancaiDS. Harvey t h o u ght, awe-
stricken beyood words, bad anything
a pproac hi ng this vast tceoe t iaa sp ir ed
and then, probably, no human eye had
aecnit. That had been when the nrao-
tain* them s el v es had been bailr
A bat rag e beyood c onc ept ion. And
then, after several hoars, k Wo pp ed . It
had been going when the first JaH Har-
vey had reached the footbiQs. Only the
•4
ASTOUNDING SCISNCE-FICTION
> el die mw*«ini. bat tc tr c d y any
o( the tbape they had hdd vhen the
'barra^ bc^an, remained.
Daryl Strang ilraichlcne^ '
~Tbe barra(r b bfiinc.** be said qai*
ctly. '‘Here they come! Oar men are
to 6re at will mail the tauu) b aaoaDy
0(100 them. Then they are to meet the
Yellow Girdle in the open, with crery
weapon at theb duposaL"
•
THE GREAT yeBow waves ma r ch ed
an iofcm o ai bre. The nwtmta i n
bal^^ ol every conceivable site
nraifht into thoie tidal wavev ol ho-
maniiy. It ipet p i er c in g alivers of lead
and iieeL It spat buOeU that e jip lo de d
on contact with even a vacraat bre eae
and. exploding. w r o u f U havoc ioe many
yards in all Arectnns. A ballet went
into a nan. exploded. kiDinc that mn.
ernMnc l a m le ^ t tlni ^ with a doaen
other men aroMd him., Shaffater be*
)ond aroeds to express piled the a ol di ets
ol the Yeliow Girdle cp at the base <d
the Rockies, as the monntain erupted
lead and seeL
The first wave eras destroyed. The
sreond. third, fonrth and fifth waves.
Bat b ehind them were yet other wavesL
And ootfaiof conld stay their march.
Harvey look e d at General Stranc. to tee
the seaeraTs face wreaked vrith pearb
c4 sweat. Stranf was saying, half to
hims el f:
~It’s aauaHy bike ficfatiac locnws with
lly-vwaners. Kill a millioo of them, and
two nx lboo s take their places. And just
ibinlc. we're jaW a sin^ phase of tfxir
‘^tackl To the east their bombe rs are
no c k ipt on onr civifian popnlatioci. clear
to the east coast. Their lo^ ranfe pms
leap the mountain, ham me r at onr re*
serves. Every buOrt je fire kiOs Lord
knows bow many — yet when we look,
after a tninnte or tno of it. there are
jmt as many as before, still adtancme
calmly, firing, adnxtdat acain The
only difference b that they wamble a
iole. b ecaase it baT easy to walk on a
sea of dead bodies P
C ol o n el Holooenb's eyes met those of
Jarf Harvey, as fwn orde r l ies entered
hrailqtu r t ei s — tvro of Holcomb's order*
fies. as Uke as in a pod. Two who
i fnored each ot^ becanse their dignicy.
as ced e r h ea , mow not be violated by the
curiosity n hi ch mow hare consnmed
them both. N'cither u nderstood the
pcesena of ih^ other, and it was. per*
h aps, juw as wefl. Holcomb.^ hopeless.
n odd ed to Jarl Harvey.
Harvey, unafraid of authority, darted
to face Darly Straxtg.
T>ae moment, gtnenl.'" be said.
*Their n tu b ers make it hnp4i»cf —
less we have numbers, too, equal tn
“Get away, whoever yon are! You're
taldn( ainnkwr qp n se ns e? They've pW
fifty miBians "
“We haven't, cenerai." saij Jarl Har*
very camr^y. “hot in a matter of 'min*
ntes. we can recruit an es3ra man (or
ev er y saldbr atsd every officer who can
be mastered in thu sector. And all will
be as weS^rasped as any yoa now haveP
“Take thb man avray. He's a ma-
“Tm the msrade. general P said Jarl
Harvey.
Daryl Strang stared, studied Jarl
Harvey, said: “Now I kssow whe r e I
saw yon before, only then yoa had no
eyes, no finders "
~Ko feet, no tonpw. wr.“ said Jarl
Harvey. “Now I have everytbinf.
wfaiefa in itself shoald make yoa vmn*
der before kicking me oat. Well, sir P
“^k'hat*s on yoor inindP
“Master a tet i° *n t . two re pm e n ts.
a brigade — instantly. If Colonel Hoi*
“Everytbinf b ready. Harvey.“
choked Hokomh. “My o r d etl y order-
fies— orderly jost reported so. Bat one
bomb, droppinf imo such a gro u p of
“WeT risk it.“ said Daryl Strang.
•s
JASON SOWS AGAIN
Oatmir, the (cncnL OotsitSe. hit
tuS. Alnaat k full bri^kde i i kM>crcd
bciUe k pit fiSed vitli what loobed.ike
Bat that nnt have aoox i o cB c yTh t n -
aaUe ■ fificinc e. wires raa iolo
k, aad tltcte was a way to cove r it over
sad hide ks 1071107.
**Forni them in iacs of msacs, ■r,'*
saidHaroT: -I-S vKwk fast. Wcaaok
take k chance oo k bnmh **
la twkt pte ot ica the troop was
Bailed. Jari Harvc7 pr i oed the black
box at the poop alentl7. The axa
nattered. A bell of a tkae aad pfaoe
to take pietores! B <4 DhtTl Stnat.
whon tfac7 all rtoofobed. koked trisolp
■cr io wi , to k aoart be no joke; moat have
a rcasoo wiff > rwntl 7 stroaf to jiu t if p
takiat a chi Off oci the fivts oi lo mJDjr.
1 pfOIDMBO yCM OOC fOOnBi KC CKD
naa here; air." said Hartcy. *Bot lH
do better. lH give 70a twenty lor each
nan bere P aader baa breath be said
to bimartf
STRAXG aad lot «aS vmc toofci ^
np-at the iky. their faces grkn. For
frocn several ^l e ai o aa s o i d cd the dofl
roartag of YeSow' Girdk booaben;
vhoic Qoi poiiftly
ae e ia c a coaccomtioa of oicn See tbaa.
~l’aa *■»«*«««* arkfa tbrai, gcacral.'*
called Harvey.
A wbtftle aooadcd. Tbe nca daabed
bode to their posts, bock casder cover.
Harvey moved to the rhanfir pit. Hoi*
coatb*s workers were there to help faiacL
He carried a doa en or oiorc half-inch
cobes of strange ■wtalfc' jdy in bia
band. csrrinDy, as tboogh they were
vMTtb their w ei ght in ra£pm.
He worked a ntracle wkb wfaat looked
ao Bkxfa like an aSporpoae dump i n g
pk and wkb ooe of the taay aibea.
wtale Scrang and fats ataS watched. The
pk opened as be n gnaled Hoksaab's
aaen. and oat of ka sorgiof mystery
cra o le d and c lim bed
from the ips of Strang and baa ataSf
The pk d ose d again oet another of
die cubes wai opened o t e c ond lane,
and a s ingl e gup welled up btm the
moadis of the cfRrera Bewddere^
enrsing, a batt a l io n fongfat ks way up
and oni of a sfanmken mau of jwk
Jarl Harvey had p roved his mir ade
by du pBcaiin g kl
*^dl. gene^** be ycOed. hit voice
high and cr a ckin g wkb cxdtancnc, ‘‘wki
yon bel i e v e me nme?^
He fek &e a god — whOe Scrang and
hit staff n oodered H. after aff. a god
had not arlast gi ven them thdr mirade.
Suff^ sud to Harvey: "I don^ m-
d ernatwl k. donll beffrve my eyes, bat
DO general shonld adc far mir ac les , ^en
refnse to believe tfaesn! TcO me. m*
staetly. the secret of that baxf*
JaH Harvey wetted fab Ips. »kd.
*Alad£a’s lamp, air. bco ug fat down
to date, if yoa can do wbat I need. S^.
if yoa bke. diat k ccao a iwi tbe Dragon’s
Teeth that Jason faegot to sow. The
ones be did^ soar, grew ap and became
wa r rioe s . r rinrmtrr ? There’s no time
far more jot now. Bm get this— tbaa
box holds defeat far aO the cramalra a
adSons of the YcOow Gkdlcr
"Use op all year cobes, Harvey." said
Scrang in a cho k ed voice. “'I^t re-
tome to headt p iar t e r i u a menwr of
Bay waff, wkb a moior’s coomdmion.
re s|emiibie to oone bat my se ff l"
"And the box, sbr
"in sa crifice an army, if need be. ao
keep k safeT
VI.
"HARVEY." General Daryl Scraag
snapped. "1 dan^ know bow yon dU
'that. I don’t even beh ev e yon did k.
Bat. by Ucoven. I saw k my aiaff saw
k and if they can make the YcDow
Girdle ace the men, lao, theyll do. Arc
they reaf-or figmtau of imagmatioa?
it that
ASTOUNDmO SCISNCB-FICTION
p co } cct im ks ma(e ts Gfefiee ms it>
orifisi] ”
Jsff Hari «7 ibqok bb bead
Tht t el ea u io B i crc tn* oa the i^ilb id
ebe Head^oaften * roo wi fiidccrcd aitd
■wm l aad writhed with flame aod
c r eeping, aearin( abts. Stkot gboab
of pa n ! bomber s m o red in wreafity
acroM their mrfaers Oat«dc some*
tfherc, the reality of seared, blasted
drrit awp M ihoae ^
— then n e r er knew acsin. “They aren't
nces.” Harrey said, '^rhey're reaL
As reaL" be mJed laatly. “as I aaa.
Fai one. yoa know. Jarl Harrey — 1—
went into that dark room the bco ka n
tbiBf yoa saw, Gcsieral Straaf. Eye*
before tte catastropfae. while San Fraa-
dsoo idO was. aad I — I bad a faady.
mf fiaincee took ny ‘picture* — oiy toacc
in one of tboae jaymrion cubes. Jarl
Harrey— that otho T — beo u fbt that
cube with Um ia tfab aaalyxer. And
(rota it. aad the matter you had p la rr d
in the in t egra l o e booth. 1 was lormed.
“Fm Jarl Harrey. Fin reaL Only
— as Cotood Holooaib said — I was
nrrer bora. That's — siQy thooch. be-
cause I rrmrm b rr my mother, my fa-
ther —
“No oattcr. Fai real— those troops
we materialued arc reaL They're men.
the max axa who mood bcioee the aaa-
lyaer. Yoa tee, this mreKuniou is b as ed
oa soBirthim new — laaheard of before
thb day. I waated tcieriano— a trie*
ritioo that woold need no s ender, bat
only a teodrer, yet coold see throoch
Sec. aad ana*
lyae the saacrals aad oil deposits be-
neath the sorface.
“It arts a food idea — aad to aa ex-
teat I ma de it work. -when I reafiaed
what I axMi use. No hfbs. no X-rays,
can penetrate more than the surface.
-Bat some iDomiaatx. teia&^ bade mes-
safps of what it strtes. mom be osed.
There is tax oex always present,
day or aiffat. aad rery deeply pcxxtraat.
the Bsom penetraat ia the kno an oof-
rerse. Coatnic rays. Roc k wa ter—
mml nothinf mops them qaicHy. Bat
mineral tVptx i ts arc ao dec^ b ur i ed
too deeply. The orifiaal itnptilses eoold
enter ia wiff i rirnt mreafth. bat for re-
cepboa they had then to plow their aay
oat t faro ofh that saax ram mass of
amttcr.
“It Ada'i work, hot I did d cxl op a
‘&ka.‘ a somethmf, to tepixe the sensi-
trre pbtc oCa camera the first bef i a-
ninf s of asy impeesmoo'^abe.
“After that — there was aa ac ci d en t.
1 don't base the sliffatem idea why thb
ihiaf works now; jaX know it does,
and that I can make othera Eke it work.
In pr i nci pl e it uses casaac rays. It
b a t hr ee -d i m rn si fw al imafc (ormed by
c o sm i c rays. The c o od eawa f lens b
a field of ioroe. built up by electric power.
stahiEwd by a tiny battery enrreat.
The Baafe it farm s , thoofh. record^
in otter, absfilatr detail the complete
aoalysb, in three ^mrndoets, of rrrry
simgU, inditidnsf at#m tad mtUcmlt tl
ftriktx. Aad (urtfaer. by facasiaf the
ramrr a afaia oa raw matter oootaiaiaf
those same items ia wiffir ieot qtiiraity.
ia say a r r aafnu cat, k tends m farce
those srnw i s wwis those'saox post*
tions
“A Ettle dxnocal crxrfr tt acedcd~*
the clcStix cjiricat feed* wires supply
that throafh the medaon of the mteax
inniiatinn that falows that ray.
for ato^B^ molecalc for mole—
cafe— oa met d u pfi cat c. Gesxral
Scraaf. I pcoa ox you that I caa fhe
yoa a fully eq ui pped army of a huadred
— « t hoanad mdSon men! For rr er y
maa the YeQow Girdle destroys, we'll
rabe a l o m d rcd from dead natter.
Erery maa the YcOow GinQe slays.
sre1l throw iaio that mtepator, to briaf
him oat afaia whol e afir e. Thebdead
weH'ioe to rise afaia aad fifht ifainst
the m a s our men!
“Not men alooe. Machines tanks —
fuas — planes. Anunuaitioo aad poboa
o
JASON SOWS AGAIN
{UL This thinf I bold is the
pfodactiaa tool Idaa ever hod.
tba. bjr on tbe Gods of War nan rrer
dreant of. we bore the YcQow GtnSe
locked, d cbw d. d em o j e J in ibis blade
boar
- General Stranc m o re d tbarly. Hb
staff obooi ksn looked on the mirade,
and tfaesr ejea bland with exnkatsoo—
un derit a aditu — lor they had to behere.
From the chaos and nndi of carbace
and i«nk they'd draw forth an amy!
Froot cTBsbed metal and b r ok en tools,
.even bom dead ore. thtyd draw
(fe c ap t ui ^ Ydlow Gir^ phne they'd
raise a trintiat. screananf Sect of ten
tb s os ao d ptiars a n d rrery ftame pi-
laccd by the beat pilot ha aS the Amesv
can form! Every pbne piloted by lb#
And Gesteral Stranf spoke, bis voice
faB of a bit t e m eas that seared his soaL
■'Wfonc.- he (rated. “Wron*. dm
yon. Jarl Harvey. Tboae (ods yon
caBed — chose ancient Gods of War— arc
bochmc at ns. Oh. danm yon. damn
yoo. Kvvcyl We wont Wei Cc
he r e d ie Eke the trapped rats we arc.
traaian in oar holes as the Yclow Gw—
dk plows os tmder.
'And yoo — with year ftm»S ih t o rtnr-
? •• ' ■ Vf » #- -t- ■ a
MBflDBf Hope. TvB rC WCWL
■ -S • -a a - a n a j
■1^ IBK IflMBT CBOQIfK I A OOPOTOQ
-Bnt^k works " Jari Harv^
stared at Strang with a Hank, daced
face.
'll works, yoo tool, on mtflrr/ One
Inmdred milSon men — and yoa said poo
need ed 300 poonds of matter to make
one man! A miBian men woaU mean
of Vbd
and otber noSs. And Ifae Yellow Gir*
dk woold math that million as caai^
as oar krat niBinn was inndinifrd. We '
haven't ISQjOOO tens of food. We
haven^ the trmspart to br ing it. The
Yclow Girdk has blastrH the xaS Enes.
Before we coold ai a embk — anyw h ere —
the ffUtm bsOtan fan/ of fpod yoa'd need
for Chat army yoo talced of— the world
woold be av ernm by the YcQow (SnOe.
'Gaos? We need the iron. And
more, we need the chrome, the vana*
dimn and mol y bde ao m and tungsten we
ran not get to make those. Planes?
Where b the mgaten of the valves, the
molybdenom and c h r om e and vanadiam
of the rods and cranks ?
'Yoi spoke exact trath. We hove the
m ig bdest prodnetson tool man ever
dreamt of— "Snd no raw material what*
ever! We have the grcatesC mBiary
weapon of Earth's hisc^ — and not the
sigh e st ose for it f*
OsMdly Jmt'Hwvrj timri at the
wbaCr. /fr ail rd fact af Gmrvof Daryl
5 ~fm s / . fbr y snn p r /f prarrsf ta star
tammamd fkr artsy sf tka Daitad Statu
af A mar i ca . SUn J y tka imfart af ika^
tkmf eaaaa la kiaa. and la tkaia aider
ataf mam aUattaa§ di/rr. Tka pnalaat
fa ir a ii at aaaa f am af aM tone n/rir//.
The tmatatt mmy rtor dreamf o f on
ron/sd far warn! ^ aaattar.
Datf is tka ‘/krff blsdrd rataramit
tka fraamd rsrbsd ta tka fngklfmt kavae
af tka YtOam CiadVs akatU. Duf os
tka catacaamkt lay tka §raataA taa! Urn
kad awar jnsdr martUru. Tka Da-
fS ajA aa fb s miracia far mkiek a nsrion
pra y e d n o/ iaafatamtl
Tka adykty trtad af tka ffty ■iTb'ea/
/t am ped doacn tka §rammd, fram tka taa
ta tka matt rampart/ af tka Rackiat.
Slaady, tkaia faat. tkad cstk Ws/tfop
tkaUt. tkarmad damm tka is/f rrn'ffaarr.
Pmaatly stmt /or Hay bomb monld da-
ttray faramrr tka one (Amy tkat onyAf
— bmt far tka lath af daad matUr —
kavr tatad tka ma li am
TO SB csacixi
Wings of the Storm
.An anasaal tale of a carioat little man —
who eoaght the Storm-Eleaet,
by.
Manly Wade Wellman
I F tibia a. tale oi iataatj. k *oolii
W(iM by calbnc Enc MofoOoa tbe
faf—oat loeotMt bu day. Tbe
rrxm table fan li that he waa one of
the moat ordmary. Hif career was that
of m — y an early de t en nm a ti o o to
aftafy mc d aci ae — an exhaasnoei ei funds
beiure fradnatmo — a turn to teadunc.
Far aoore than twoty-hve years Mofo)-
loa tao{h( elnncstary science, botany
and baofe(y ia tbe poblic hi(h school of
Calfaon. .Florida.
Ijemm of all did he loulc doxiofuitfaed.
He seas abort— barely an meb oeer fire
feet — arith aarrow shoulders aad a wide.
laCfirc atooach. to that h» torso re-
sembled a pear. Hit fray locka itra(-
(fed ihialy ; has fray moustache drooped
htxartaody. His wide hlue ryes Dcctfed
thark fiaatca. Oothes always seemed
sloppy opoo ban. e r tn when they had
brra pressed baM an hour before. Only
his sfefsdee. sure handt batted that la
aafhe hare been a sucorasini t uf f eo o —
d he could base afforded the educataoa.
O.SF. XIGHT IS early Jtaie he tat
tjp late, frada^ csaawnatsoo papers.
Mrs MofoOoa broufhl han a cup of
anetf coffee, and oser a be tried to
new bnfhtly the twelfth dull paper.
This slisdou deserrrd no more than a
C— oayfae a C plus. Mofolloa yawned
oser tbe hrst natr ^nestssos. then con-
cent rated oo the irtrth.
He. MofoQao.'had tried to be orifi-
•al at framatf that ^oeitMo— had tried.
alto, to evoke orifinaJjty throufhauC tbe
class. He had asked that each st u dent
conmi eat .hrieffy on the soentifee fact
that had most interested that s t u d en t
dariaf the semester.
“Many soesaists behese.” befan this
answer. Ho hsnaanai. tike aU the rest.
Mofotloa read on ;
kfsai soaaaei WWre that tlw mnH-
tit at dw Meets, soeb u the twi. srr
M swsrc st h — as brw(i war dww
Hwnan hnw(i aayrar.tao h« lar aau la
•re «r wsSrrwxnS , tlsey srr Ue W«
■ ki li sws M tW sly. tain we Ncp on
aa aae M. a b Iska a fawncaw to bma.
•ari. karirr tor tkew so gymfiad (Jsm
fee w sa wadrnisaS a kj^li i ■
A drab, repetaious recital of what
MofoUon bad once read aloud to the
ciaas. from tbe book of a frrai autboniy
on tbe insect world. MofoOoa took up
has red penal and w rote under the pars-
fraph; “Do we understaad hurri-
canes ?“ Then he folded the paper,
marked a C phu. and added it to tbe
P* At once be forfot it.
Bui tbe next day he paused, by the
merest chance, to look at a dnplay in
the wrmdow of a bmkstorr. , A title
caufht his eye: ~H|fh. Wind In Ja-
maica.“ It recalled to his mmd the
examination paper — the brief tuffestion
of ant-foSc unaware beneaib the vast,
catastrophic feet of human moesterv
He framed bneffy in his hrasry mous-
tache Oser the otnious profression of
tbk idea; what did caose horricaaea.
rrosM
The coanWaf wag sagmU to Ua mrm g tgomgkt
Storm hriaggr toom^ kmgt-
(hat ton«rrd aad tmanhnl m> ami
ibnr work* bk< aau aad anttalh ? He
m( rc*d cp oa tht toikjett. A few
■ lia um hter. as bt tfu d g rd cSI he far-
1^ ODCt nocf.
A wcdi IsMrTa two Mittt scImsI
had dosed far the tamer, a h u rrk aM
awrpc Df> throo{h the West ladiea.
t ti wBted the G oM w ar d coast ei Floridi.
bobbed inhad and took the roofs off of
a faMdr ed hoone s fa CaBitaa. fadndfaf
the Bndest rcsideoce of £ric Uo^ofloa,
Reporters harried frooi larger towas,
talnTy pactorcs aad faterriewaig^ tttiy-
bodjr. A owa froea JadcsowriBe. kar»-
fac that MofoOoa sno a teacher of k(-
ASTOUNDIMG SCIXNCE-PICTIOK
»
CBce. imitfri ditt he write ■■ anide
oa htTk anci ior the Sondajr (eatwc
•cctka of the JadcaoaWDe paper.
UcfofioB e^reetL At the hbrvy, a
•qoat hnldiBC of l i we tto o c that had
o caped eerioa* dama^. he caDed (or
hooks oa axteoroiofy. Here he leansed
that the r atinn i tin tsoB of weather was
aa ioreact tdeace. ior all ks c o cap li -
catioos — that there was coasiderahie ar-
pa n eat ortr what Mopped aad started
w io df t o nae in aad near the GoK of
hl rx i fO - He wrote the newspaper artsdc
rather dolljr, btc iiade tnoch of the my*-
lery of hst n ic an e a . and on the etsd taged
a rerersc riew of the paragraph in the
cxanaatjaa paper: *To haratacd aad
helplcsa anaakind . the impact of the hor-
ricaae is like a heary, thoochtlesa boot
scuff ad, throq|h an nasuspectiac hsQ of
aau/^
On Sonday issominf he read hb
artsde. Shtstrated srith pict u res of the
srree ke d hotaes^of Colhsoa and aa old
pomait of hiasself. ukcn hhcen years
a(o apd reprcsentinf hkn as Inolrinc al-
RKMt katcresUBf. He derfred coDsider*
able utisf i ct ioo froos the expcrietsce.
aad sre« (or a waBc His way kd bka
past a little c hurch , half-ttripped of tiles
by the rec e nt wiad. Throuch ks brokea
paaes -of colored flass rune two hnea
of a hymn to an anpy deky :
"Hia fkarinn e( vradi Ike 4ws ibaadcr-
ioTHli
Aaddtcl: ii Hm ynB cm iIk wines ai lha
‘'The wksfs of the storm.** b^ocoOan
repeated atoetd. Aad suddenly a nsaon
came unexpectedly upon hiniL He saw.
or biscied. prat Uack panions that
stirred destruesioa down upon tiny ant-
nests beneath. At that spot aad ks that
minute of tkae sras bom the de t ern sia a-
tion to do the usexampied Ihmf he
errnt ta ffy dad.
BEFORE HE HAD reached fab
borne be bad bepan to the
pcoAch to the pcofalcxKL An ordinary
hmnms beksc was plainly too small iort
a%fat or compre h enstoB of srhat mifht
ride behmd the bnrricane: therefore the
ordinary hwnan beinc must grow, in
sbe aisd in poster of rbion. How? He
had an ans w er for that. ton. As a y o an n
nan be bad read H. C. Wdb' n os el .
“Food of the Godst“ in whi ch giants
were bred by a ipeani diet. More re-
cxndy he had dciigtetd in the stories of
Ray C imnmtgs . arho and wrote
of a drug that srould increase or de-
crease aiae to an infinke degree.
‘The fantasy of to-day b the fact of
to-fDorrow,“ said MeptOon. srkfaout
much originalky, bat srkh great detcr-
minition He ssent to work at once.
Aa agent mot be dev el oped that saonid
diffuse the molecules — mutt of a
sast army deploying oser miles of ter-
ritory. "
Yet again the d eme n t of phen cme ts al
luck enters tlK story of Eric MogoOon. •
Great schohn hare tried aad erred
hiifwlrcds of tarn s before they seised
't**"*^*! riddles far less compbeated
than the one to which be addressed him-
selL That he. bmked mentally aad
technically, sfaoiild eren attempt to make
hb fancy into fact b index of hb kn-
^racticahty. Bat. on hb fo u rt e enth at-
tempt. in the 4>nle ctOar room that be
calM hb taboratory. MofoOon drsef-
oped the pfindple that, after some ra-
tsonalixatsoa and r efinemen t, would
serre hb need. He achiered a surprb-
mg mixture. Com b inin g k srkh sratrr.
be prod u ced a whole s ed i me nt of gray
aad crystal bodies — aaimaletdn in-
creased to a sue visible to ibe mked eye.
More experiments, srkh the mbture
and with certain bring orgaabms. Mo-
goOoa ia)cctcd a droplet of hb dbeov-
cry into the viscera ff a bring poad-
•rnit and sratched k grow to the site of
a derby hat. He prodded k and fomsd
k still abre but excessively fisbby. Uce
a fcByfish out of sratcr. In time k
shrank again; the posrtfa phenocncssoa
‘ WDCCS OP THE STOEX
tl
tnmacflC. He cfaed Le J «a other
cxperiBcou. and had lioahr rnoks.
Tbe ftabfeinras ci tW Mad fitted in
villi Im orifical conceyt of nadernle-
f3Akj sod dHfwHBf to fid a
Creater voioaie of fpaec. Yet thb open-
oeder nardi of parddes. with r tt ukan t
frapjiijr of body a tm e tur e. did not per*
tin A exact ratio with the crovth. The
increaainf bo Bt . he j od ^ d. fed to Mcne
extent on the air— on water vapor and
c^hon dioxide. His final condonont
were that one dose increased the treated
erjaninn to approximelr ny times
its normal dimittrT. dmaky of snh s ranr e
iaBinf off considerahly — be never enm*
poled exactly what the chance was there
— and the orfanism ret u rned to ks
orifinal site, density and fawral physi*
cal condcioti alter rather more thm an
He brcaa dtahne with larcer and
more complex sperimras, hot a nmle*
crichri Irichtened haaa nearly inlo heart
iailore by frowinc to the aiae ^ a don*
bry. He loded k in a shed and k
sbrank back to ks far m er comfortinc
dmwnsfaos, and never exp e r a in nte d
with any animal hreer than a cockroach
iherealter. He (eld nobody ahoot bis
findm ex. not even Mrs. UofoBoo. Her
intercsu ran. in any case, to ahoppinf
mti hridfe and mouon pict ures , rather
than to scfesice.
ALOSG toward the cod of Anfan.
k was a rmouner d by c o v emmta t weather
aWrvm that a bo r ric an e of exceptional
farce and dancer was cm ks way ooi
of the central sooth Atlantic, to hah the
West Indies with ks lory.
Moc^iOoo had been readme oboot bor-
ricanes. whenever he cooid find txne
between phases of his ex periment. Most
of the accouMs were wrn te n by joor-
nabnt, and aboonded in colorfal ^.ratex
'Fiendish bowl of the iiinf.' "heavy
tread of destrtxtion.' " to w ns erwshed
in a refesKfess c^ip'* — bits Use these
conaohdated in his fancy the i ma f c be
had boili op. He bedfine mnlyticaL
A storm area michi spread far two hiM-
dred miles or so. bin ks cenaer — the
"eye" of thr hurricane — geoenMj meat
nred ahoot six anfes across. A brine
with a base six miles in daaeter wc iwl d
lake considerable handb^.
Yet he was ready. Mr ecks carfarr. he
had purchased an abandoned bam near
the eastern coast of Florida, and there
he had a saemhfe d rather more e<pdp-
Bitnt and rhtniira l a a ppbe s than he
cpold well afford. Batch aitrr batch
of his mixture fand be completed, far
he needed faimdrcdwteicfau of k. Now
that Sr borricane was on the way, he
infarmed his wife that be wooid be ewac
from home oie m icht- Drfrinc swiUy
in his bttle tar. he reached thr bam
shortly brfare mi dni cb* on the twenty-
richlh of .kofust. widi a cfear sky and
a haU-tnooe ovethend.
He parked hit car at the tide of the
road and walked (nlly a mile np an an-
efesn path w the bn. That was a bare,
pamt-fiaked t tm o n re with phK trees at
tbe north .md. Opcnin( the door, he
p eer ed ka. There he made ooi the cr«M
rnaaa of hia preparatiao — whke. checiy.
pan e *”* to the tmeO. Once actin he
compote d ka vahame; be needed a mack
thirTy feet m feacth. aknoti as vide and
nearly two thirds as bigh. filinc the
ham to thr peak of ks roof.
Reachinc in. be looped op * doable
handful and moulde d k into a ball the
sue of a gnpeink. From this he
scraped a ntnll dab and twiddled k be-
tween his fiBfer tips until k made a
crabby ckibale. rather tmalfer than a
pea. Now far k — no. be most take off
his ekebrs. Tbry would spht iaao rac*
upon bis increasinc body.
He hhed thr speesaefes from his aoae.
folded them and tfarosk them ieeo a tidt
pocket. Then be divested him a r lf of
his sloochy hnen tnk. his scoffed shoes
and his lonc-ifee^d un derw ea r. Un-
tidy as always, he kicked the c*txneacs
im^ a low bush Now be went In a
n
ASTOUNDING SCISNCE-FICTION
baml ef nia vaier at aoe coraer at the
barn. Nod to tfab. fall ib dK oaooo*
hcfat. he hid the tix-iach ball of £n>wtli
DvdiciDC.
He vat ready at bjt. With a.tki
cup he di pped a dfiak from the bamL
IVappiof the tirallett pill iato hit mooth.
he toolc a q u ick tvaOov of the stale
vater to vath k dova.
A DIZZINESS SMOTE hkn. aad
hr could aekhrr tec aor hear. He lek
a rifaratiao. a huBuniaf. that auj hare
ipn»( op ekfaer w«hia or without hit
Indy. For a a wme tu be ahnoat
laptcd. at thou(h uBder a heavy weifht.
but he phated bit fret tcabbomly. .After
a Kti aku hour, thaq^t be co ene more
bearable. Ha head cleared, he could
opea hit eyes aad peer tboettifbt^y
about. Now what?
Objeett had frowa ia»ll arouad hkn.
He aiifbt have been tratvrlkn oa a aiodel
^adicipe. with hi&s daakiivhed to Uadc*
cn, mead ow i to garden plotv , A toy
Noah't ark atood thia-lucb bet^ him
in the dim moonlight. That would be
the ham. of oourte. Thote feroy things
amst be the piaet that shadowed kt
north end. A^ a third of a city Mock
away vat tbe ribboe of road wh ere hit
car vat parked. AH these thiagt he
obt ers^ wkh reiith. whde be thnOed
m<be mb u ght that by over theta. Hit*
d it cove r y was a taccett. It wat p r o ve a
oa himtrH. He aunt be all of three
h tmdr ed feet taD thit mataat! Oh. for
a note b ook aad pencil, to ^ down hb
fin diagt and mnefcn ia nt ! But the note-
book would hare to be at large at a
highway tignboard — the pencil at long
at a t eleg r ap h pole.
A luddcn gust of wind, warm and
ttrong. twept hi* face. A ha r b in ger of
tbe viad-oaoeateT that wat fiooodering
northward?
At tbe comer of the bole bam ttood
the dna-oolored thimble that anat he
the barrel of raia water. MagoBoa Imek
and cao ce a trate d bit gaee. He tpied the
tiay whke pellet that by there. It wat
DO bigger to him now than the dote he
bad tvaOowed at the begkmiag of the
adreatare. He picked up the atortel
betw eea thumb and foeef ia ge r . and with
bb other band lifted the barrcL It held
hardly enough water to help the pill
along.
He tvaBowed aad draak.
Again the vibrstioa. the dixxiaest, the
bliadnett. Had Dr. JckylTt brain aad
viscera been that churned up when he
became Mr. H>de? MogoOoa took
time to r e m e m be r — aad the m em ory sur-
prised hkn — that Dr. JekyD vat not a
real persou : he was fictian. tbe creaiioa
of Robert Loub Stevensoa. Ah. Ray
Oummings (torie* were fiction as wefl.
but here they were beooe ni ng a fact.
Again darky of brain, st ea d f astness of
foothold, lie chuckled over the joke
be had made, wiped his face, aad gaaed
aroeaad oaoe aioec.
The field made a coarse check e rboard
around hkn. and the oc ea n wak barely
hb own length away. The bam had
shnmk out of tight. It must be near
hb foot, somewhere in that bald patch.
He beitf aad fbussd k. wkh rather more
dd ficuky than he had experienced in
locating fab second dose of growtb-stidl.
As a matter of fact, the bam was httb
more than piO-sue now. He pinched
k np aad extracted ks store of cfi e mi c a l,
He turned toward the sea. stepped to
ks brink, then waded ia. Ankle deep
k was. aad thongfa he waded oa aad
on. k renuiaed ankle deep for a dorm
step*. How could that be? Thb was
the Atlaatic Ocean. But he was to
huge. What was sixty times three baa-
dred feet?
MofoUoa did the bk of arkfinetic ia
hb head, divided k by five t h ousa n d, aad
told h i msel f that he must be more than
three milet high. S u mmer warmth
played arouisd hb legs aad knees, hut
the wksd Mew chin oo hb jowls. No
wond er — he was up there in the aki-
ctsdes where aviators needed fur-
WINGS OP THB STOSM
»
rimed tofg\c%. Now be wu fadinf
•MDC depth in hb wmSok. be bad {aiaed
a point weB off-shore and tbi(b-dccp in
the ocean. He lifted the third dcae to
his \\ 1 tb a qttick effort, be swal-
hawe d it dry.
- Esen as he did so— and the onskhcd,
pin was knobby in bit throat — be braced
htnuelf for the unpleasant. spell of dit*
tiarss. But this time it did not c o me .
On pr u dent ienpnlse. he waded a fitxk
farther oat to open water and panted.
The ocean receded rapidly down bb
cahes. Other thiqfs bepn 49 p n c ker
and draw in* upon him, as tbongb a
shriakinc acexat had been spread aromsd
the spot where be stood. Once be kwlced
upward at the sky, and felt astonbh-
iBcnt to find that the censtellatiens had
not diminished. They were at s p aci oo i
as rrer, and the moon the same tdrer
thee, dearer -and be%hter if anything.
He panted at last. All was steady, in*
ride and out. Hb dard inc r e as e in sixc
sras plainly at an essd.
ONCEAG.MNhe n s u kip f i ed figures
in hb head. Three ititVcS ' or rather
more — times tiaxy. He most be two
h u ndred miles hifb— or rtcn hi^scr.
The Atbnric Ocean rose iai t ep -deep
up o n h i m , a lukewarm dini|rstsa msder-
fooc. Meanwhile, hb mooifa aisd noae
tnssrt be cosnpleteiy ont of tbe atmos-
phere as Iwiinsn scbnc e knew of tt. At
two hundred miks akitade there would
be only li(W ouer wrcatfat o^tydro-
fcn and hchum. Yet be was wP snffo-
catinc — he wps esot rmi brcatbsof' sn
far as he conld tdL The chance had
taken care of that matter — per hap s by
tbe absorption of ab and water rapor.
He ca^ down at hsmsrlf.*kssd..yaw
bb staked body as k had alarays beest,
but mbty, as thoqch cbmpscd t hr o s^
a fiffat dood of smoke. Hb hassd. for
SDitaoce. was recofnitabie in erexy
crook and knob— but its naib had no
clarity of tmtline. >M>cn be toncbcd
hb her, tbe taf of mootfacbe .fek arti-
19
fidal Bisd antorpfaons, bke a sin^ piece
of fabric instead of a dose- f r o w n Miif
of separate baba, lifrinf an arm ufv-
ward. MofaBoo iek sore that be taw tte
moooBffat fikerinf thronfb k. as tbouffa
throoffa amber or wax. Hb substance
bdd ks orifiBal shape, bat not ks orifi-
nal to C d k y. P er hap s, to tbe tksy eyes
of whaterer human brinfS looked up-
srard to-«icfat. be wras tr an spartsst. a
scmsdiscc I uifale bare. Not once bat
thrice had bb m ole cu les deployed tbrm-
schres under wimuhis of the cfatmi c a l.
srich only partial re-enforc em e nt s from
the desnents of the soreotmdinc at*
iirapiate . He wonid hare to make fnB
notes on all these thmfs later on.
Hr IH hb eyes roam asray from fabn- ,
self. He stood, h speared, on a romsd
faiDtop. with sky on esery hand. Thb
was a vast sectson of Eanh. be reaHicd
—after a^. Fail's diameter woidd he
only forty times hb present heiffat. The
ratio sronJd hr that of an apple to the
fly waBdnf upon ks rind. Wkhin three
or foer paces by the Florida pen i nwl a.
bke the tiflww e tte of. a tnttle's heaked
bead increased to the sok of a hallway
mf. He conld step acroas it at ks nar-
rowest. hp~ j ndfed. and tra s eesc. k from
north to tooth in about three
stfidt t Above and beyotsd, the canci-
nexit stretched darUy. at btf to him as
a bbly catensi se bwn. On ks far tide
he tm^ ont a tiher ffeam that snnst
be the Pacific Ocean. And befasod him
woold be Europe — Africa — two door*
yar& Bat be had 00c swelled to Ifab
tmspeakable size toy the sake of offiof
far c o n t in en t V There was sometfainf
he had s worn to meet and c Hen i naie.
U(c a thorn from the tort u red flank of
tbe woe^ Tbe hurricane.
Hb eyes traieOcd below tbe beak-tip
of Florida. There was Cobs — there was
Santo Domiofo— tfaerc Porto Rico. As
a boy be bad tfaonfht of Cuba as a bar-
ryinf da chthun d. intent on osertakinc
the cat Santo wfticli is tutn
purtu rf the m e mc P ot t o Rico. They
M
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
* harf looked I3ce that in bt« foartb-crade
‘ g tcfr apfcj r. Below the parade <A ifaeae
lartrr hhndt Kanered the Hmller one*.
chnLer]r docs and losapt in the mooo-
brifht sea. Bejond woold be Sooth
Atnrrica — boc be roold not nuke oot
the roast hne. What ho re red bet w ee n
him and Sooth America?
MifoOoa't hnt sensatson was ol look-
B»C an eleph an t in the lace. There wt&
a fnr exppase that miefat bare been
the <roat of a smooth sknO. srith an
eartikc ftap stirrinf (cntljr to either side
and a trailing proboscis at the boctaoL
Paicntlj' it was three-dimensional, and
patently it was alhe. Its balk was as
ertat as hb osrn or eren greater and
- -reiatisehr speaking — a was as dose as
thoogh on the opposite side of a widcish
street. VIogollM narrowed his lanky
eyes for a better view, and made oot
that the head had no body, was in {act
a body in kseM. What be had seen as
ears srere srings. or served as soch.
Wings of the saorm — the hymn had been
right aboot it! And the trunk was
rather a neck or throat, as thick at the
base as his caH atsd rather smaller at
the tip than his srrist.
That tip. he saw. e x tended to the sor-
Cace of the ocean, and quested slowly
lot deftly here and. there. Ripples
rir sgtd St aboot. and MogoOon tbooght
that a bttle black island qnrrrred be-
reath its tooch.
Meanwhile, the entity was drifting
ever so slowly toward him. toward
Florida. In bis slow, mock-tnethcdica]
sray. he rtahted that the cruse of his
lode was runnirg dry at last. For he
' had made thu exntrsion inco gianthood.
thinking to trap an impish thing a bare
six inches across — a crab or a toad in
mmpartson to hb stature. He srook!
hare seiatd k. e xammr d k. and finally
cTDshcd k. But be had gnrssed w rongl y .
Six miles sras fwt ks greatest diameter,
but ks smallest— ^he width of the tip
of ks nose, to to speak \t>d k was
cixning closer, slowly but surdy.
MogoOon told himself ruefc!!y that
be sras in a moa awksrard position.
THE MONSTER sras prrda;ory. si-
cioos. It moved slowly only becanse U
sras feeding — grxdng theepl&r oser rich
pastnres. It did not exactly ^detour
sen^ sohd thiags. boc the essence of
their agony fed k in some sray. As for
himself, he sras large but of attenaatrd
tistae. It might — nay. k surely srould —
be able to cialcfa and tear him.
Were there other things ? No. he saw
Boor. Eanh could hardly support more
than one such titan, to brow se upon ks
lesser bses as an anteater licks up na-
tions of mseetj. Thb storm’-being moit
faasT existed since the bt g inn ing, fknl-
mg doudldse from shore to shore, pot-
ting dovm a hungry mouth on occasion.
And he. MogoQon. sras not rcaHy a
he r oi c monster. Comparatisrdy. he was
srhal he had always been — a soft-bodird..
oldbh man srkb bad eyes. Too. be sras
naked and unanned.
If he had thought to proside himself
srith a knife — but that wxiold base been
i m pos s ible. An inch had become three
miles to hb present standard and siew- *
pomt. He sroold hasr needed » stedge
of irs» eighteen miles long and three
miles wide at the base — a thousand feet
sroold hare been none too great a thick-
ness for k. What mine might fombh
the metal? \\>at smith forge k? On
what stone could k hasre been whetted
to an edge?
The floating body was murling closer,
in the direction of Porto Rico.
.Vote or wrrrr. said MogoQon within
himself, and the silrni cry of driemti-
nation gate itrengiK He made half
a doitn quick, chsmy steps forward.
fe e lin g unthmlablr light and madeqoatc.
The dosrn-slrooprd gray neck enrred up-
sratd and forwag^. showing a dark maw-
opening that turned toward hkn. Had
the some sort of eyes— mold k
•ee hkn?
UogoQoa glanced down to make sure
WINGS OF THE STORH
f5
dot hit gnat fcct wofU doc tporn the
tiny whixh be was defca di nc. Then
be tfnag in. a very j aerro ui tackle after
a very frigbeminf halfharir Hit amt
dtfa te iwd arooad a wnootb. elastic*
tkioaed bladder, sad bit aottrilt'wcre
tenicTea with aa odor sharp and ozooy.
Next inicant he had swerved aad
spmnc to bis left — far westward— drac*
(inC with him the overbalaaced crea*
‘ tare. They fell with a featle tfottcr
^wto sak water a fiaert-foiet deep. The
winc-fioket beat at him. tcrik iBf tpaiks
into his eyes, bat be did aoc la-
ttead he socnersaaked with hb cap t i ve .
made shift to faia hb feet beyoad, aad
went down ooce nxwe. The (tappk
be^aa in deadly earnest, m aa bhadles t
■stretch of warmbb water. They most
have been at or bel ow the Equator.
The fifst charge aad dntch had g iven
^ yegoQoa tocne advancace. bat he did
DM know bow to ioQow it np. The
moeurotity. oo the other hand, had
sense aad science aboat k. SdO strfle-
iog aad bshiag with ks win g s , k stag-
gered him as a hawk might have stag-
gered with wiag-haSets aa aftarkin g
weaseL A m oment later ks nerkHke
. mesnher by an to belabor IfogoOoa's
head, brnbosgly aad cimai n g l y . There
were ao v is i b l e eyes or cyddee organs,
yet the c re atu re assuredly powriaed aa
awareness of how aad whge to strdcc
icfiiog blows.
MogoDoo let go with oee arm. doo-
bled hb fist aad drew k bade to strike.
Before be lamhed the strolce. however,
hb prisoner span oat of hb lymened
embrace aad away. It fell back a short
dbtaace. then began to cir cl e him watefa-
fnHy, as a wasp circles a spider.
HE WAS shaken aad weary with hb
brief but violent cxrrcioes. He had ao
tnttatioa of being winded, or panting
— that was proof eno u g h that he did
not breathe as do normal hotnan heiogs
bat hb fn u sfl fs trembled and sagged.
As the Bun e r ing e ne m y dosed menac-
ingly in. he strode awkwardly arkfa both
hands, m is a rd . and du trfae d once more.
Again he locked amt arotaad the straio-
mg body aad dragged k do w n with hkn.
Hb first effort was to straddle the
thing aad pin the thrashing wmg-fltkca
■rkh hb kaees. The bedk of k was too
great, bat be managed to keep on top.
_ With one hand he sciacd the neck, block-
ing ks Kailhltr assank. bat be was boC»
strong eno u gh to bold bade the tip fraa
. c or viag in toward hna. The qo ej ting
dark maw to u ched hb shoulder, fastened
there. He fek pain. The tbaoe of the
creatute’s neck gr e w tense aad then vi-
bnat within hb ene bdi ag fin ge r s. It
was stsdeing at ban.
He tried to poll away, hot coold not.
He had a tentatioa of growing weaker.
Sahhier, wearier. ,\t the same time hb
adversary was plainly increasing in tiae.
as tboo^ k were cap e uria g strength
from hkn. Sometfaiog be gan to sfains-
mer before him. Was be going to fake?
Or was k that a rhythmic beat had
sprung op in the body he wrestled, a
th r obb in g rbe aad fall jost at the baae
of the nede?
The tfairrty bold oo hb ihoolder grew
tighter, more painfnL Aad the thing
became larger, la r ger oo. k was he who
dwindled I Hb trebled giaatbm was
fading from him sooocr than he thought.
P er hap s the wo tm d was lettiag the force
of the drag leak oat He could hardy
en dr efe the bladder -body now. even with
both arms. He mott h^ on some bpw,
crash and cooqa tr
A wave of i a spi ratio n vwepc throogh
hkn He had forgotten aa, aadent
we ap on— a terrible one. Teeth. Hb
teeth were sp l en d i d — the d r n tbt had
coinpikncntH him only last Jaaoary.
MogoHoe thrust hb face down at aa
angle, pressed k right agaktst wh ere the
beating stmed the storm-tfaiag's netk-
hae. He opened hb mooth ta ks widest
aad bit
For a breath's space the tight ialcga-
ment resisted — then hb teeth set ioce
M
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
MovtUnf polpy Vkd vnDsoBn-ttJCiB^.
He flexed the uaev» ci his iavs aad
hro m fat tfaoK teeth Iscethef. A de»-
pente shudder nn throucfa c s er y atooi
ol the creature, and be fdt hisaelf tonsed
dear, sprawtxnf foil leufth in water
deeper than he had expected to find. He
col to his hands and knees, dashed spray
from his eyes, spat and stared.
THE STORM-BRI.VGER was dy-
It was i pxnens e now. as bic as an
cfcp haD t — a bouse — a c hu rch. But. as
it crew heibre his petri ac old eyes, it
lost shape. Its substance emmbied. Idee '
wet sqcar. A CN* widened darUy w he r e
hr had bitten home. Soencthinc was
Crriac way there, wxnethin c that had
held the powerful mass tocether and
Bade k live. Now k was Idte the mist
he had first thoucht k to be — but break*
iqc np. firioc twirls and racs.
And the wrater. me anwhi le, was knee-
deep to hkn. Deeper. He was crowioc
saaBer by the stcood.
/ kaev Bwa, he told himself, His
eyes, for all they ached Cor the want of
spectacles, clktc^ ttnawphan tly as they
watched the death acoay of the enemy.
Already k could not be caOed toBd. It
eras dmohrinc. The stars shone throqch
k-^lhe moon could be seen, a sharp half-
disk.
The old dizziness possessed hkn ol-
lerly, and weakness more than be had
knWn. He loa hh sense of time and
place, he pitched down and down. Uce
a stunned bird in a c himney . Salt water
splashed into his nose and mouth. Des-
perately he becan \o swhn in k. Sscam
in a moon-spattered ocean, wrkfa wares
terakinc orcr him. He could see acain.
understand afain. He was himself, a
naked 'mocc of life only fire feet taS—
only sixty inches. Aj»d thb sras the
Socih Atlantic miles deep axsd sboee l e s s.
.\ shadow ho set td near by. It (rfi
upon him. sfaottinc away the moon. A
wine ^ ^ enemy ? — hat those wine*
were ranished. Thb sdbouett^ had a
bow a dedc-hne and stnoke-staclcs.
"Ship ahoy V he jefled. in a roice that
au fpc b ed him.
Silence, then an answerinc cal — a
surprised roice wkh an accent. A
shouted order; encioes backed wattr
and (efl silmt. klore roices. exeked.
FtpaDy : “.M»y yourself, in the water !
Giresas a hail acain !"
kklaen he had done so. there came
back, “Can you keep afloat ?"
"For a while." MocoBoo made shift
to wheeze out.
"Chia up. then. We’re l o werinc a
boat,"
IT WAS IS the cabin chat Moeollaa
saw and beard and thoucht clearly. The
ship’s doctor was kind and c fli ci e nt : he.
bCofolloa. who had once thoucht to be
a doctor, enried that rAcscncy. Finally
the face abore him resBartd a comf o rt-
kaf wkde
"You’ll paQ threuch. I daresay. That
wound on your shoulder "
. "Yea?" prompted Noc^^loo excitedly.
"Oh. k’s only a fishbke or s o m e t hi nc
of the kind * S’ercr mind looiciac. I'*r
dr esec d k. Grmiar slash, two inches
acroM. It OQC^ to heal quickly."
. "Whtt ship b thb r asked MocoHiml
• "The freichler Frrmamit P», from
Bencotla for Rio de Janeiro. Thb
storm that came up to quickly and went
away afl at once — k aknost did ns in.
I suppose you were wreck e d by k?"
"Yea." said MocoOau. "I was srredeed
byk."
The doaor pursed hb bp*. "Odd
thme." he went on. "Just before the
storm struck us. the radio man had news
of a bad h ur ric an e in the West Indies."
MocoHon was frehne ' strooce-r-*-
stronc enouch to have a joke afl to
hmueM.
"It’s possible." he mernmred. "that
there won't be any more hurricanes in
the West Indies."
Then he smiled in a way the doctor
hked. but did not understand.
I
ASTOUNDING SCXXNC 8 -F 1 CTI 0 N
rock io the €10700 of tbe Yeflow
the
Icono o cry e i ooffat
soese. tnothfing k. todcr the
boo of s orippof fotho»V nj
ficKtiicoI ■Bpolses* vnd^
«hrtfOBM CBCU of kine i co pet ia
befcc t eo f crf f watching Iihm^
A fist rspoov of we at hered rock,
tkecog ed with ermine, poihin e tboo*
smd* — backed b7 oradfied. mnki-cof-
oeed clifii water sfdadane kt rsaihow
to* the side — the nid-after-
mn coroscatine in the BTriad
t n ir tora * wfakfa cos ere d DafamseTa
stfsa g e helix, beadof on the dark
selmkan ceQs of the sohr-eon-eer ii oo
which had charged its bat-
rar np at Hoaet Sqture. The age-old
e any oo was d eser t e d.
Oaji paased. weeks, moot hi
raaco-haired sciendo did not f et um -
P h Tik i Oj recfaecfced DohameTt 1
Wd bis bffiXa
they became n ar tyrs — ahhoogh not all
so cleanly as PaoL Sou li n g l y be had
dinaned and eanisfaed. Horribly these
others died as they tested their respec-
dve b tlirts tw o froni burns, two I
dectrocason, and
So one knew what hanpeprf to Dcs>
tat Lownda Hb sist« had fc sa sd a
diunhft xcd pair of legs lying brokenly
ia the hchx he’d made. On the backet
seat dose shore was a wary -haired scalp
clin ging rather Astractedly to a spongy,
bloody tnass of braim IroexaDr. the
hehx wa
The thnB-scddng world saw the fic-
tk. enddle age d p hyii c bt brash the
rasco-black hair back from his broad
^ for eh ead, saw him ware and soak as
be node final adjootnrnts. seated there
within that insoWsmiil niase. 'Then
'there came w eir d, a sier ing c ran e sc e n c e
which merged solo crystal-dear air. the
sbgfatly-aadibk inward wash of srind
and oothiogness save a soondkis ex-
panse of naked rock
W hisper s that grew into incrednlooa
debate. A nn o uncers excitedly teVrast-
tng i nd i rid ua l c ipm ic a w . beseeching po-
li c enien to keep bystanders away ftom
the video's lenses. Eyes oraked at
that suddenly spine-tingiing onthin g-
A scribe slipped srithin the roped area
and strode confidently toward the com
of nothingness, certain that Dahatad
was pfaying m parlor trick srith a
'cabinet of inrisibdity.' His face dark-
ened in chagrin as ^ focxid — n othin g!
Time argoed on. The crowd g r e w
restless and gyrotomicked thence. The
world's tderbors twisted over to a
“canoed" version of a straggling mo-
tiao-picxiire i nd u st r y's latest tr i u mph, or
to a bdewaOt speQ^ bee on the loutth
Some one on u g gkd a portabk icxxio-
soopc c am era mto LowTsdTs bfaorauxy
and cot the s c en e into the National
Tderbion Ctreoit. Imagine that rnridly
nauseatin g horror slicing into the pol-
bfaed. soul-soothing beaoty of a sym-
p be ay conc er t! * The world shuddered
and quickly t un ed out
DdatmcTt theories, plans, equations,
hdtx — all were outlawed from research.
Prwsririnn of them was er kwieimi To
the world the question of time-travd
was a book closed forerer to posterity.
Bat
L
OS' THE BAN'KS of the Horn
Rrrer near Worland. Wyoming, a shm.
black-hatred girl took np the forbidden
torch, rebuilding, rew irin g the bdix in
which the latest Martyr had died. Deep
in her locdy heart she had sworn to
su ccee d where all others had failed. She
most! Her name was Bara Lowndi!
Sheer fakh drove her — faith in the
theories and equations of DohamH m>-
der whom both she and Dennb, her
brother, had studied. Bat it b hard to
carry a torch when the whole world has
1 CA 8 TTSS DOirr MIND DTINO '
99
lost (tidi ia yoar caax. cm the ooe
yoa lore.
She hjd tried hard to coo rioce Rbu _
BcUiof that the bad diaco scr e d and cor- '
reeled the infinitrtima l mrtfahr in the
wirinf which had seat a lethal dbia-
teray to destroy her brother’s s pl en di d
yotaf body. Bat after they h^ fia-
tsfaed diain^ in a tiny aloore joK off
the hboratory, he was still s he pt i caL
“Kid. h’s aadnessr be sated
poskirely — stubboraly. the thooebt.
“They’re all died, erea Den. Yoa ny
D«di»nri was tita c -c aM . People ay it
did look so— it happeard wrhta 1 was
down in Yacatan with the Sarctaki Ex-
p e dki oa so I don’t kaow. If the troth
be losowa. be was probably jnst pain-
lessly disinief r a ied. hekx and aB.
Heasta kBows a peraoo am amty dis-
appear isowadayt witfao Mt beiaf taae- or
d i nwn MO a -cast. EapedoOy p l ay ia*
aroond ariih t r tr y ray ia the syi e ca t
pfaas a few deadly by-prodacta. Thac’s*
not meant to he co n q o er ed-=-et kaet. aot
in that lhm(P
“That *thinf ’ ar9 co nq uer time.
RassT the pleaded earnestly. “Ask
any physicist to rherk those etpsafioas
“Errry p h ysici st who .^becked them
and followed Duhamtl*s placss ssmply
c otnni i ttfd saicidel The p^ waa jost
an cc ce n tric dabbler anyway, pre-
maturely ia hts s t cor i d childhood— an
freak X phss Y'a aad pipe-dreams from,
what 1_ bear P
“If yoa had ever seen him or beard
han speak yoa’d hare behered. too—
yoa’d kaow tiait can be coeqaered!
\\’hoerrr blaepriated PaoTs pbas erred
shthtly — the w iri at askew.
It — ft took Dca’s death to p ros e that!
I think I’re ovrrc o me it “
“Yoa ikmk! Bara, don’t be a fool!
Yoa can’t past ihimi — yoa’re fot to
Imsw.' Yoa can't kin yo ar sc M jost be-
cause scene harebrained prof tact|fed op
srith Einstein’s theories H aL. aad caax
oat second beatT
“Tfaere’d be no scienoe if we dsdat
expcfimeat. if we didn't take efyners T
“Thtrc'd be BO List of Martyrs
ekherr be s nap p ed . “Oh. kid.<yoa*re
fot to tfamk k ore r “
He (rasped her hand possessirdy. hot
dK shook k free, rose from the table,
p ac e f i i lly entered the tsb aad slipped
into the D ohamrl bribe.
“Bara!~ he ercfaknrd. steppinf
q ai ck ly to the x listenin g e hr ota e gate-
way which bad closed bdoad her.
‘^o-morrow a f tc raobo 1 time-caatP
she declared abruptly.
“Yof^ll! Kid. I lore yoo— doesD't
rial mtaa a ny t hi ng any more? Yoa’re
got to gire k up!“
“I'm sorry. Rtsss. bat I cant. It*s
my dotyf*
“\'oar dmtyr He hagfatd cynicaBy.
“Tosrhom? Science? Be a guinea pig
in DahamcTs /Incinerator just to bare
your nam e stuck up briuad your broth*
cr’a oa the List? Bara Lowadi. de-
ceaaed; rt ^ait u ml im faetf Kid. Dca
woMdnIt waat you to— “
Tm sorTy," she repe ate d. “I p rons-
tsed Desmti thtt I’d car ry oa if mij~
thing hap pened “ Her roioe traU *
off ^ a loody tear fd to splash sound*
lessly oa the ksstruments. Mechanically
she s a ari g t d k auay.
AND RUSS BELDIKG stood there.
sJmt aad grim, aad wondered what be
shoald do. For there was paia ia his
heart to tee her foQowiag a wiB-o’-the*
wisp wh i ch led only to death. Which
Bade her ohiirioas to the lore which he
had coofessed for her. Bara was deter-
mined. aubbora — sotMimes aknoM
cruel — but he loved her despite afl that.
The trierisorphoae’t bril cut the si-
lence. Russ sna pped on the traatak-
ting and r c c e i ring andins aad rideos aad
said. “Rtm Belding yaki ag “ '
“WiatlowP the rt e ei re r boomed.
“Tre foond “
“Say. what ails yoar video? There’s
DOBB^er
leo ASTOUNDDia ftCIXNCX-PlCnOlf
4
CJCuTOOIlfBCt S OV CC ■■■»■ lOBlC*
bow — Dover mind that I I've lopwd a
— ^- 0 _ t?- J- - * -*- a •-» -* tn1 n
mgtii c^HDocr uif KO odmi hkmc crno*
bite totiib down ia the cr e ek bed — and
—I'm afraid k't ”
'If'bal/ A artW Wky.
thoac ftrata are at leaat 560 million
jrean old! It't oabdieTable ! Bat,
Wmtlov, there's nothm y to be afraid
of; aaythinc that old ooaldn^ be csfie-
datf Icthair Aod. aside to Bara, be
fTVmicd. ~ Mental ease — m o o opbobb —
*fraid to be alooe. the ariOied whkclder P
''Lbtcii. Rossell.'* the straiaed Toice
insisted. **I tried the Dvmao blaster on
it and un c o v ere d a portioa " The
voi c e fabered. then coetiooed softij:
-It's daritr “
“IhiriUt Why—Pmi DmktmuTt
f m m fmg - 0 § gUet Mr #afy a M/-«Zr
mf tkf Cmmyom’ Maybe Hold
ev cr y tfak u ; IH be there in a half boar.
SToe«r
"Aad barry. ReuclIP There was a
Strang', frightened urgency io the tired
voice.
Bara vras soddeniy at Ross’ side; her
face pale.
“Who Mr that?"
"Jost my assistant. Winslow ; n c thitu
to (ct exceed over. He's a vrfaite-baircd
old man. small, wrinkled aad en dow e d
with a p erp e t ua l case of ye jitters.
"la ad d i ti o n , he’s the smartest eoan
I’ve ever known — knows all the >001100,
-olop es aad >b(ns aad aQ the answers.
BsD he’s afraid of his own sfaadow. A
s trai n e (cOow, but I coolda't (et aloof
witboot him. S ctnef i mr s be cries oat
in his sleep, osoaBy jost one phrase
over aad over. *Oh. Lc^ is he oominf
back?' aad. always, the day after, be
v rat c b t s me aad fear is written al over
him. Gives me the willies sooietimes
my s el f, bat. as I said, he’s indtspena*
aU^r
"Wbere’d yoa fct him?" Bara was
in one of her ioexpficabie qaestkaiaf
mcieidt now.
"Most a wocnaa know i»mit or do the
French say *tsats' now ? He popp e d np
in I^rk City a (ew vrccks ifoa^ asked
me for a jobt 'Sa shame — he know s
more a bo td aeo l c wy aod oaleontolcwv
than the Academy of S ci tn ees and is
9oke sa ti sfi ed to be my atshrantr
Bat she was stand i n f there, half in
a trance, as tfaocfh the weren’t kscen-
inf . as thoofb the were miles and years
away. ^
"Ahoy, below there! Haven't we met
somewberes before?" he asked, tdtmf .
her cbm up sbffatly.
"Rtm. tfab is more serioos than yoa
think! Paid was
’H'sk. tskr be frinned. "Skippot.
darimcl lH phone and tefl y’aB abooi
it ao^boo. yoa won’t fo to-morrow.
hnhr
"Sot tmtil I see ‘whatsk’ this *whatsit’
The smile that sopphnted the dred
det er mm ation on her sweet face made
her all the more adorable. Rns bent
to km her. and snmrthin f in the warm
brown eyes told him that the wooki
neve r leave him.
. A stiap f e look came over her face
as the stood framed in the hboratory
door, watthinf him expertly Uatt the
fyrotomic away toward the west.
"Jitters or mom-man ia or no," the
mumxir ed softly, a fiood of b a fB i of
wwlOQ^^^Em DCa CwmSCowCQ OPOW^
"that MX thr cover af Pawl Pvhawrf?"
n.
DUSK was dipp i n f vrbpy enrtaiai
of ni ffat into the Canyea of tte Yellow*
stone whe n Rosa Bekhof Bared down
on hit under jets, tipped from the ttnbby
ship snd hastened do w n to wh ere the
old mu stood, a radiam-torch in one
hand starkly d ha ni natin f a wide pit ia
the a q u e ous rocks near him. a Bates
dxsmpter mfer hes arm.
"‘Sooner? Keepiof off poachers?*
Ross 'asked, rather cmelly.
"It’s tow n t fai pf yoa may some day
tmderttand — God forbidr
If AKTYRS DOfTT MIND DTINO’
Ml
Rom dimmed k all with a simc aad
itrpped to the pk'a edfc. His keen rji*
took the straace (omation in at a
(iaoce.
Foaailiced trilobkes elcbed inlo the
toft aqueous rock — magnificent three-
loot sp e ci m en s ol Earth's early hie-
lonas. a craarbnc, roOkic arthropod —
l]rin( about, under, aad partially orer a
hefaen- and crystal-incrnsted object per-
haps a toot tone aad fire inchet in
4p<uctrr. One end had been bared aad
-pistened with the blue -green hater of
the master metal, dariie ! . , .
'‘Ourke." be mu r m u red, "a si i bstanre
created by maa — just two years ago. by
^jhataeP^Wound^ in strata which knew
nek her rertefarate animals, insects, or
plants — a sea-ruled age b ea r ing a crea-
lioQ of manr*
Unmindful of the soft (otsils. he
leaped down into the pk. squashing the
estemal cartilaginoas framework inco a
ooodeion which would hare drfren an
lostkoie geologisi into dehrium tremens.
Winslow effi cie n tly handed him a
portable Dnman blaiter which he in-
stantly fficked on. The mcruited find
was bathed in lambent Same and was
ntisktd almoa instantaneously clean by
a dame approximating 4000* C (the
jnekiog point of the quke unaffected
durke approximates MOO*, an aS-time
high (or any known sobtfance).
Cooling the cylinder, Russ picked k
Bp and started toward the dude -shrouded
whkr laboratory which chmg amidst the
weathered rock, shgfatly up cliff side
The Istxle old man (oQanrtd him. his face
frightened, eyes alert.
They entered theHaboratory and Rosa
deposited the c yli n ^ r on a desk, sat
down and Kudied k earrfuBy.
Prominent on one end was a dial
c o m bi n a ii on. its characters still iharply
defined. In nanote script on its center
was: Phnrtmn Lodes. 2X11.
'That’s a lock of hit year’s modeir
W’insiaw’s soft eoice died a w ay .
•The derk you layP
**2X11 means 2011,
There waa a trace of madness in Ross
Bdding’s eyes.
'Do you rcalixe what this means?
Paul IMiamel «uj time-cast — thb must
be part of his helix, lor all the other
hfarTyrs died. I must call Bara and tell
her the b right But say! Who
knows but thb might be from krr heliK
which hasn’t cren tistie-cast yctr*
'Whatr* bunt Winslow in a tydden
transkion from hb usual, fr ightene d ,
tackum manner. 'Is Bara w o rfciog on
her brother’s helix? Ob. the Iktie (ool
'Mustn't what?" Rnu tptm away
from the te l ee bo cphone. amaxed at the
outhurst.
'Motn't — time-cast r* the old man
said hesitantly, hb roicc calmer now.
'If you love her. she can't go to — shaB
we say, death — aad ka«c your*
RUSS looked at hkn strangely. Was
k knaginatioo. or had k seemed tor a
momen t that Winslow had meant lomc -
thing far different, something spine-
chilling and borrUc? Had there been
something in bb tone which might fink-,
op wkh sonl-wTesKhed, fear Hir e nchfd
cries in the night. 'Oh. Lord. bbeesaK
ing buck '
Wkh a sfigte sfandder of m in g led pky
and snout hing akia to fear. Russ tnraed
again to an ir r es poo sb e T V P.
'Sfaoet cirenk. I guess — first the ridco
the aadio.' Wkalow
Bdding’s supple hands fondled the
cylinder, idly s p u n the imcorrodcd dbl-
lock. Hb leTcrbh eyes seemed lo qoeit
whatercr time-warped secret lay wkhin.
Tbere asost be a way to open k.'
he mused. '1 donl waat to over
to Woriand again to-nigfac on the afim
that k miglu he—'
rored on hb fare amimnent aad pare
’ at s ad den , alien knowledge. For.
the cy fi n de r and
Itt
ASTOUNDDfO SdSMCX-PICTION
bow be cooSd open it. th*
hmi Imptd i■ff— t — imU kis
hniml
-Wiaslo*.’* be cried. 'I kaow tbe
c omb i n i ti oal How? How? Caa it
be a lelfpathir meisace acroes the 0(0?
Fron wbooi — aad wA^r*
'Perhaps j«a*d best not opca k. It
is bat a prehade to death **
'Koosenser Rou aid. but the iaex*
ptwabie phrase b cc w f ht a p c eowni t o cy
ch^ npoa him. Him Ur Softoo l dm.
to be tdepatbed across u n h nown imlhrm
o£ eaohriof ytani His haad trrmUrrf
as it tamed the mmbinarien aad opeacd
the carcnhr door. He hrskalcd. f U py s -
iof a c nia apfed sheaf of p ap er s witfam
**A atessafe." be baM-wfacipered.
“tram a time when naa did not exist
' ** Hb hand, t rrmlfin f. drew oat
ibooe mystic sheets. He m u t ter ed
rafoely. stariof at them, itaiard with
inr r tOO iAD- vOg C doc OC onto CWOOCo
He looked at tbe b hir red pcnciinf ; his
eyes wesat sride aad be gasped.
“Good Lord, am 1 s ere ay or b
Oosiof hb ryes, he d >o ok hb head as
thoofb to dbpd a ris ic n . 'Is that '
*1t u year haadwritmg. RosseOf*
Wimlow Was tease, wide-eyed, leasiof
OTcr hb shoulder.
Russ was sttriof at the wridne i»>
credakoEsly. He badal noted the
Kraage emphasb . die strange look of
fear oa the other's face
'No. noP he mu t ter ed, "h can't beP
Aad be laaghed ac r ro a sly. h ol din g the
papers in deaefaed hands, sur r eyi ng
ibm in an ecstasy of confusion
'Winskiw.' he said thickly, -it's
wsnnb i ng — something honi ont of bell
kaelfP
Hb eyes were racing ower that
pcr a wle d writing. Words and phraaca
sQfm uoDKiTcs ■■o ms msL
Russell Beld in g — wri ti ng das in the last
bears of life — here in tfab p r iaiki te
sraue with a dead man gr inni ng at
aK That cyhader ont of tbm
aoned it — aaned to drive me mad with
knowledg e of say r«w f*tmre. AB nighg
long after it came I dreamed dreams of
m a dness . Bat days ago— or sraa it a
aaBion. miHinn yean? — I Sew from the
Y eB ow e ne and a jet — num b er 5 jet —
bbsicd even as the papers said or say,
far these are tfaoae and — Oh. Lo^ k’s
aoad. i know, aad yet k uP
HE RAISED hb head and laaghed
rather shakily. 'Wiaslow. k's knpoa-
sibfe. noerly impossible. Thb teOs of
oar finding k aad yet k b aa enti ty
aad cannot tell of ksdfP
"Time aad space are strange Fraakcn-
steia-chaldren srben faohsh maa med-
dles sritfa them aad thkdes he b a god
to c ha ng e them as he srillP Wiasfaw
had dr opped bade into a chib, was ly-
ing wkh ryes dosed, hb lined face
twbted crook e dly. ^
'1 su p pu a e that's here. tooP Kass*
voice had km ks nsoal cakn He rested
a mnmrnf . waked far the blood to stop
ks strange, savage po n ndin g in hb tem-
piea. -He shot hb eyes, to so meh ow
hr conld see that page ste reotyped m fab
brain— every line, crery word emhht-
oaed there. He dropped hb head again
to read.
Filming srords b l ur red with blood.
'Bara drove me to madness— lost to
InH drrw gon. shot her bet ween the
l y vi In III j fSo fifty *-wtsi**-* nad
years of badrwaid-faartbng life — a fiash
in c te rn ky and then tbe hdix stopped,
batteries d ep le t ed. W aadcrmg, wander—
ing along the stooy, hfeleas shores,
"*-*««~* by m t e r tids l mods s w eep ing
aad sfashing on the sandy strand. Dig-
far imnnsks . crustaceans aad
bcachiopods akng tbe verge of shallow,
humid seas from which only tbe up-
Ir aid ing axb of the Rockies reared th^
'And then, one day. a man — a dark-
bearded. jaded man tottering throngh
the p etrify ing s ed i m en t geologbts call
the Waaoobaa rocks. Paul Da ha me l !
If are insane than the whole mad world
HASTTSS DON'T MIND DTXNO
m
I
At ieBCth he nited hafyard, blood*
Aol, incredu toi* eyes froo that
KxawVd pace Uood — the
pafe ahid > said brieij, damnably: 'Aa
boor acp I tmaibcd DafaBmeTs
widi a fOBtai n tr from Bara’* brine
a pervene eb prompted me to
c ar ry. Bat he «bot me with aa ezplo*
peflet— the ooe witfa wfaicb I IdDed Bara
c ot my ricbl lone. I focaa. Coqcb*
inf op blood iiwia curtnc wok. caal
yoa criniii n c. crinamc l^oL Yo
cnabed easy, hbe a Uoam-op
— fmmy!
* 0 * 0*1 write more- -moat lock that
-etreactb
Some day aooie one nay find tki* who.
wS um l errtand 11^ Heavea for^
fire BK (or what I have dooe.'*
Rm’ head was a aiarl t tram of
Bktaof tm o ti o e i s His
• ■ * J-
M u rrtq» m vorof
“My fatare ia past-bfe—deathl
That’s my bbeJ maar/ Bat I caaT
bre k. \N’ioilowl 1 caaX and yet.
a oBwhow. I hear/ It’s vaj ariiinc my
bloodr
Wmslow was tboacktfaly
him a ebsa of whi riey hot he araved it
away. His head ana adaac arkh a ad*
boa dirohh i n c paias aad of a andden be
w a n ted only to sleep aad iatfe t k al.
*<jive me a
potent;
When he had draok k he wafted a
* - - ■-? ** » —
OD luuui BH ufTw nnnxBp kbbj
OBthebed. HelckboBsclf
OOMtlCM, BVpxnBlT WmKOPtT BH OB*
tOClCQ CflMIB lOH Op enCO BIOCOQI» PQ9*
tomlcM abysses d rip pmc with gore aad
blood — the tieb. rH blood of Bara
Lowadi str e amia f from a c^saady
in her sknll — his oam blood
from his shaner ed side, filinf
his hmc*. choidne him. Aad al the
whde he was faft^ fiffiac into poob
of blood that eagoUtd
baa fotib <am «al ^aio. Aad he*
lore him Bm was dying aad cryiag
oot to him and be coidd aot reach her
or aid her— —
Aad oot in the dim hhoratory the
btde old maa sat tfaroqgh al the afght.
reading and rereading the bloodstained
pages, hb brow twis t e d m woodennent.
the Bates d i sr o pt e r ever near his band,
fear m bis porrbd and ofit i m es he
moraaored. "iimst k alnyr hr kkt this
Ikr sm ^ mt eUrmityr"
m.
A bfM) MORNING hrohe: Rasa
— y — y -
UCMUH • iwVn BKO GDaBCMBCW.
thro ii gfa a dotted red of Uood which
■ A -AA - J A - ,a_
UUI^ iVlQKSm/ Bn CSBOO BBuC w
the Httd frofli it lod
sproBg. Pitternataral menwrirt were
in his tiand ' mrmsries U sometha«
that SMT -yet In be/
He by qoiesoeat'ad tried to reason k
oot wkh tfae oold. practic a l rcasoniag of
a ham a ek a ria . k was impoatftie:
Soaaehow he knew that Im path of Bie
I ia the dtainaig jmea stindb
Hebaearkl
Aaoi ■ desire for death swept over
be of res i s t ance (or
lo whom the haare can’^aaean only
deatsay. He drew aa t a pb^cl ct from
hb belt, raised k la hit throbbing I
power iem to pal the
Ifetorhn ly
Kl^ A -t — h ^ -
nC BOBKIVB BK
head m
Finaly the tears
caloa. •* l ew born the Yd
The fu t ur e was ordsawd He
A \\ r^ — ■ ^ - A - -a .. ^ ^A _
mo ^ BftlOw w WOCCf OK ^
_ • - _ -A - ■■ . — a A A - - ~ - a
yTIKO^MClh IBCB ^BpOO QKni ISBEKB
food ofwch served bK to soascsic hiB
— wsihfd dnriofd
Sb p p ^ the blo odHta ia ed she af of
pspCTs Bio fais reefer pocket he
sod s p e w ed danbed aboord the ftt-bdfied hcxle i
m
ASTOUNDINO SCISNCS-FICnON
to ^ bom^ WmIov. *Ym
p robe aroaod ifadK ioaab wkk
the OM O T ito r to mc if tbere arcn\ tom e
*- ••
MOMfl ponc*.
He boffaed a mod bo^ and the old
■no cried oot loddcsdff carocjlJy*
*‘Daa*t so. Roodl! Bebcre oie..it’i
Bat Rom was jaTrios tbe aorgar ies.
fredips (be s yrotomi ci tbe tmj cobca
oforh tbey blasted nscaataneoosly mao
disis a ori a tcd frasoKota of atc rna , send*
iof tbe sbip wb ir t io s ioto tbe lower
fr inf cj of fleetias. doty-fra/ doods.
Lerdias'ofT at tbm th o titand , be
set tbe sj rop J o t on a Mercasor, cor-
rected K for Bos^^ttic variitioo. wiod
aod eonysss deriitioo. a nd tried to
make oooiiortable io air*
cmbiooed. seat.
He tried to set hit miod oo tbe bcao>
Icoof mount lint ops of tbe Abtaroka
JUQ^ KTunUBf MSBVj
Bat deiylie bis ^orts, be kept
■« of tbe me s sy oot of tkoe.
He feond bimtelf motterios tbe ohol e
tbios from flsemory t ** *VTben I ar*
f ir ed St Worfand. Bara was ia bb. pre-
parais oetoc tor Dme^ascms. i pt ca o eo
de ifara iely wiib bcr. Imooms my fo*
tore aod betas afraid of k — inooios I
was about to kSI bcr. Sbe was
toeable, tto b b o ra dr ot c me to
oess, sqpi ios- Freosy, dsazy widi tbe
lust to kSL Drew my smi. shot her
b et o em tbe eyes! Stumbled to that
o_ ■ a • -s » a--*?— . 9 sp
ClHWKCa wnUR^ DCHT ‘
He Ml as tboqsb be had Seed it —
kt banr he hsd! He ritoaliaed every
m o m e o t with tbe kecoest pcrccptiofl.
Tbe baodwritias biased aod
throosb tbe borridors of his
There was sesnetbias
abool hb m emory — that
be sbeoid oot faaael Sometb i n f b estia l
aod iosaae s»fc to cd
■Soooc m ot or s. Bashed bn eyes anfce*
lietafaly to the mstmmeots. AfUr/ti i*s
mtUr-rndmg ms dnffimf to srrsf
Tbe fotu re was aoiavcfios — tioie oot
of tn-dme kao tmm-tkne oot of
miod! Nol 5 bad blasted! He sciMaed
k hysterically ioto the winds
nriy nifungr skshcq ksubi^ bch*
drmoias ks his bra is.
waTcs of madness, The
sans ms err atic , sarasc poc o o m
srkb the hot blood srbnperins oo hit
bram, imtg the whole universe seemed
to be nsnsbt but a cootkanJ. l ynyin ic
faafare of tfanadfr. He saw befar c his
q ui v er ios # nerre-torn eyes ooly that
caned wrkias and tbe bisek-aad-rtd of
ase - dr i ed blood
lane aod space s hu ddered into ctcr-
A HOARSE aiY<
Kps. He beard a
And now the f y t utom i c was
over and d r o p ping softly oo as ipoit*
mf aoderfcts before the bborasory at
Worbnd. So one came forth to nnet
k.
Ross haacard n nneadg y inco the
laboratory. Bara rose from a chair near
the bdix, and even t hr o o gh his bli od-
neas be saw tears oo her che eks . He
took her in bis s tr oot armr aid kaamd
and S(aiD — kissed her Eps
tiO Sotsod hcf
He feh that he coold fo on that
, kasaif her; bca laasmctat{
hotly m bit braia was that i manr . im-
possUe memory, r cc iir t et a as the waves
of aa eternal tea. Tbe m emory which
to the fated saafnanry
h^?-
ucB over Bit
Um ioflex*
Mij lo Mi BiMC f o un o,
'Ram, darfinf. whai*s the matter?*
the asked aaxioaify. pee r a n "P kn
tt4s blcd. lak chi ng face.
'Kotfaiof— opiy that yoa*re gfiiof to
leave aw forever r And k lore his soal
to s hre ds to think oo tbas !
'Bat rm not. Ram; 11 be bade ia a
’) It has to work, dear*
KASTTBS DOITT MIND DYING
Its
at ! Oh. pkue <ioa't took at aae dat
wajr. ftfMU 4*m'tC Hi> ditfed rft%
were fc Mtk n opoo her Eace. d c ro ori nt
k» CTTiy deH n eatio a M tbomh he warned
ahnjTf to remember her beamy in thooe
the l e r eamed k.
He ihook hb masahr, drammia(
brad, tried to ifaakc that wanb i n t mad*
ncM (rom bit bram.
“Doo't r>r be said jerkily. '‘Maftat
fo— teare me don^ era try; doat
— — " Tears eamc into hb eyes. ca*>
— n -» * — - - - - —
CMCQ oovn Btt on Wo mih copto.
Soddenly he teemed af h ti f t a ly atarinc
' m onng bbh ixmuiicq uj • m oi
She never Ime w what prompted her
to do k. She slapped hb Eaa hard,
twice. It deartd aome come r of hb
brain bat that dated, tr r ati o na l {fare
done in hb eyes fice the Same b a
sramnn{ dynannte {oil
^Rcta." the luumtured. **ol re . dar*
linf. 1 won't {o. 1 won^ leave yon.
Yon were riffat ; yon're ahrayt rj{fat —
thac'a why 1 love yon! lY marry yon,
Rnaa. and weY aettle down and
Oh. please don’t be Hce thbP
Bat the madneaa the acark. efattne
maanic3r**had conq uered arhatever there
was of cnhnrc. refine mmt. and decency
within him. He tfarast her tava{ciy
ff<Mn him. She atmek a(amat s'ffaarp
cd{e of the h elix and he hnfbed jerkky
at the cry of pain that came from her ‘
* Von can't !~ be ter earn ed. '‘Can’t—*
ddaied: be cfawed the pm from ks hot*
tter. aimed k at her whit e, terrified face
“KILLr
’Ruxttar A voice knifed .acroaa
Rom Bddmc’a brain Hce li {ht n int in a
aa a fahehnoJ or aa— vadatf
THE EXPLOPELLET. imfired.
QTOpfWQ trOB KIXM DSDa SDQ DP OHD*
pled, laonerr^ and mto a
near-by chair, head hobed. voice dktr*
mu r i ne lak-cofaercnt ihoqefats from a
mind taxed ahnott beyond cndnrance.
Bara Lcyradfa uob eli evinf eyes were
fecn ae d on the hale old man, dressed
in a p o loe u t’a garb, carrying a Bates
dbrapccr. who st oo d framed in the door*
way.
'Tbaidc Hcavm I vraa in time!” the
old man wh isper ed hoarsely. '
’’Fhnl— I knew k! l\‘hat— oh. wfam
has done thb to yon?” Bara’s face was
vriiite*^ she vi e wed the tired, drawn,
age-hoed fnkty of him whom the had
kno wn as.ffad OofaameL^ She tfaoogfat
of the finel y hn>. amalWi. middle ag ed
man with raven*bhck hair— the ffani
Dohamel of t h ir t ee n abort months be-
fore!
"I have been wh e re man was n ev er
i nt e n d ed to g o. aerpaa the b ord erli n e
mto that somewhere of nudncia lha( b
she prompted aa he p a u acd.
A ah o dder seemed to nm over tnm.
"Yoa know, they joke aboot rci nc ar *
nation in the pnst and fu t ur e . They
apeak of anboonscioaa recollectiaas M
repetkaona hi|genings . anceatrai mem*
cry and the It's aB too very tine -
and even "
Bara bnd dropped on the arm of Rnaa'
chab. was am oo diio g hb tangled faab
vrith tpnfk, dcficate fingers. Bcntly
aoothmg bb thodeed nervous system by
her very presence.
”Bra what did thb to Rum? Do yon
wcMM ttm tlw Itts faap|icDed lo faiB~
to ns — before?”
"Yes — peobnUy many times — and may
wki probably com e agaip. Tiaie runs
in conceneric earcfca. the eyefe of life
— n. — -M
ZXMDtDPtJC M dflDOC ■DS A BBC IDCfP
were othra worlds Hk tkb— other ages .
IM
ASTOUNDINC SCISNCE-FICTION
ot Etnb» dopbcatn of thif, san. host,
lover sad simil. kfi to work out tbdr
prnenbed desUDan.
"I bare bees to another Ue of Earth ;
mrjr hdii vas all too tuctxaafoL I trae-
eraed tone aad space thro u gh the warp
a>7.csig«ies made — past the beginnin g to
another age nhich the hehx br ou ght so
near to ours as to be almost cocaistent
wmh k. But that voeU was mad — a
world where motalt were unlcnowTi.
rtkics ittTahd. rchgion defile^ and man
a callous brute f*
Russ was alert nov. wan, pale, listen-
ing to IXdtamcrs soft wosce — a voice
which grew frightened now at some
reeofkcted and mwold boeroe and cast
s h adows of leering, satanic ghosts into
the t*F*t*t libs
"1 was idee a gud there, lashing across
their time, uns een m the swiftness of mj
l^ht. The passing I>ihasxl of another
age. Wandering here and there, warp-
ing the hehx through space to study
th^r hectic, tumahuous hie. 1 wailed
uiysclf bade to their Legirtniag. bent on
le arni ng the secrets of the covnos.
“I saw the creation of aQ thmgs.
Nothiagness and then suns and worlds
Sung out br an unseen, unrserul Sdmu-
bticn. Thiags not voochsaied for man
to onderstand. unfathomable power un-
Itashrd
‘H'racing the ordered stages of their
world— Tiom CTratxei esen unto extme-
lioo — I glanpsed two men sta ggerin g
across a reek-strewn strand of the pale-
onac and slowed, amaxed. mto their
twnr. I saw another RnssrQ Beldmg
slaving another Paul Oohamel I
saw the ibemer. woimded and bicedmg.
scribbling what hr deemed tns drmg
words — those sery words which too.
Russell, read and which caused you. in
indiridual memory .and actuahty, to be-
crane yowrtW/ «r yow were tbnt kff!
Mighty indeed is tSc’^power of sugges-
tion upon a mind whose receptive sotses
have known and (ek it throughout ctcr-
mty!
‘'Diallocking the cylinder, be gli n ip a e d
me behind the rec u rrent craorsccnce of
the hehx and hurled it straight at me.
It swerved through the hehx. ruptured
and dispersed the wrarp. vanished from
that spncc-tune into the p aleu ro i c of this
bfe of Earth, sped by the briiz’s power-
held. ■
"Before I could rebuikl the potential
and timc-casi. he had leaped into the
hehx beside me. the blood of my aker
ego on his hands, his face mad. bestial
"And soenehow'we came dosrn the
ages. AB the panorama of world's hie.
death and rebirth lashed before ns. Iis-
Tulnerahte within the wiarp to outward
changes, we wraicfaed man esolving and
rising to tremendous heights, dying.
Cosmic cataclysm and empty space —
suns and planets lung out from their
matemal, faming maws — gradual cosJ-
mg. life esolved from primal insuforia—
fish, amphibian, reptile, maiivnat, while
breaks and slips occurred in the crust
through teeming volcanic aaion and
stresses brought on by the A^l inlu-
race of the moon and by clu^^ m the
posicinn of the polar axis — in short, a
world's evol u tion ?
“.■•IfwaTS Befding threatened me with
his gun and brat me. f o e ei og me to stop
in tsne to loll and plunder for food. To
force a great surgeon of the Golden .\ge
of his time to heal his frightful wound
and then to ruthlessly kill him. ‘I shall
be a godr he'd say and sate himself
with knowledge, prating for hours about
relumicg to his world with omniscience,
br in gwig that world to this I
•TTien. one day. the Venowvtooe of
2012 A. D. and I stopped the hehx in
Its lash through tinie and leaped out,
setting the automatic zero-planes a-whirL
Beldmg lickered into nothingness
"Somewhere in time a madman it
prow hn g vreh my blood oo his soul.
acar e fai ng for me to take it again I For
without those zero-pibne settings be can-
' not know which Earth b ours
ICAKTYSS DONT MIND DYING 107
HE STOPPED aad «ui«d wearily
into noduBfacM.
Aad Bara aad Rim kaev aow why
Paul DuhamH had krpc bb rilct^ choc
aaar laoailM ; karw why be had become
aoddenly m oU aad drawn aad tired of
Idc He had (ouad what had hap-
pened to nua (roca ob b' riea to obbrioa.
He had kaowledce of all tbiof* aad was
afraid to let aaa Iomw, act only be^
came inaa would mock kin aad call bin
mad. . but that stxh knowle dg e could
brief no happinrsa aad prosperity to
Earth. Only grief aad na i dnes* . They
knew now the neansjf of a weary,
omoiioent soul cryiaf ia beO-afOBy,
**Oh. Lard, is he coniaf bade?"
Paul w as speakinf agaia. almost ia>
audibly: **N'aae of these were caiaci*
denccs — rather, the worldagi of minds
so nearly aUce. (ollosriag prescribed
chaanels which nothing could alter or
change save the conscience of the iodi*
riduaL The suhconscioBS miad direct*
tog the ndrridaal along life’s path, the
rooicioos subtly differentiating aad im-
pko i iag the progreu.
"I hke to think that the Creator has
decided tine and again to jerise aad
impro s e the srorld. I hke to thirir that
He is searchiag lor u nprosement. build-
ing worlds anew opoa the soul-frag*
meats aad suhoesurious iaidkets of the
prerkxa srorlds. A great cosmic drama
rehearied again and again until the nki*
mate — perf e ct i on?
“1 wish I could bare died with the
other- Martyrs rather than become what
I am — knowing more than a com ai o n
mortal should— or should I say. ‘com-
mon rwnorul*? — hamned by the con-
stant threat of a madman stalking me.
I wish 1 hadn’t made that last mai me
ahrration which sared me from death
and, unchanged on the blue prints, sent
the klartyrs to thein !~
Russ came erect aad a ftaoie burned
in his yosmg eyes — the Same of r troh
•^'***»*^M*^ tyf y qoj BUa*S
capttcky.
’’It’s hard to im der s taadr be said
■lowty. ~but k seems that 1 amit go
aad. m i strange sense. tuB mysett. Per-
haps k sriO c ir c u ms cB i aay iaMnortafily.
Aayway, I am going ki the bebt atd
try somehow to erase from Time the
nksrake thu is, or was or wil be Rosa
Beldk« ”
He brushed his bps against Bara's
cheek aad stepped M i ndl y toward the
hehx- Paul Duhamrl was there be-
feee hka.
“Rasaclir the yooog-oid man said,
“at least God can grre you and Bars
happiness ia this hie. & take k and
may He bless you. I am aa old maa
BOW andhare but btxle dme to rigka a
wrong Ach I once thought could not
be recti&ed. I am going to Mot the
Ffan keanei n -child of Paul Dobkind
from the world for all eteruky. aad the
ruaaway soul of Rusaefl from
the afiairt of Man
9(wB i*ut lAaomf qwwnco
aad saaisfaed. The ierward sough of the
air as the racmim of the rimrrastcr suh-
saded. w his pe r ed t hr o u gh the labor at ory
srith a btJe note of req u iem fee the man
who had gone — now — far e s er . * Paul
Duhaaid was bouad on a quest through
time aad space aad e t er uk y. toward the
tare, yet rrer-repeated ending of aB
things. That false, imreal immortality
that he had engendered was about to
drop away.
Yet thm sras nothing of sadness ki
him. For Ifartyrs doo’l axnd dying,
when the Thing in Itself teems great
NOTICE — Ail MtorieM in Street & Smith *e
magazines are new. No reprints are ever need.
Power Plants of
Tomorrow
by . ,
Willey Ley
The last of a thort series of science articles on future
power sources — ^‘Putting The Moon on The Job’*
T he vatm of tho Mas arc al>
bniiC. Tbry p coei M* trarci.
adrcstarc. danfcr aod thnfis.
AaH ihry pranuc wokb, too.
Oocc it was tbe vcaJth of pirate loot
or of fctsam. amber assd pearls. Nov
«« arc seddnc a more predoos veahb
ia tbe vaten of tbe seas. It is oeitber
pirate treasBTe aor tbe foU dtssolrcd
in tbe waves ; it b p owe r . Tbe warts of
tbe seas, tbe viods of tbe seat, tbe tides
of tbe leas — almost anytbmc that has to
do witb sak water aboondt wiib power.
There b power ia tbe difftrcn c e bttwee a
tbe tem per at ur es of soriacc water aad
of frooDd water ta tbe tropical seat, aad
there b power ia tbe diSereace b etweea
tbe teonperatorcs of tbe water of tbe
Arctic Occaa aad of tbe ice flouiae
upoa its lorface.
Erery oee of tbne p os sib le soorces
of powe r has been iaresticated tbeoreti-
cally, aad it has beea fooad that every
ocK of ibem b tarfc raooch to fumbb
an tbe power aeeded by cinlizatioa. The
yse s tioB b bow to baraess these powers,
aad bow to ha.-ocss them e&cieotly. Not
an tbe various sources of power oficrei}
by tbe seas are eijuaSy useful, because
act an of tbem arejteady enooefa (or
tbe Deeds of iadustr^ A hu n dr ed years
j(o 'it aay bare bera a (ood excuse for
aet r w anitw tbe makhecaase tbere was
ao wind blow iB ^ foe a week or so. I a
our time we cannot waste time waiting
(or favorable weather. Our sources of
power have to be rcHaUe aad steady.
Abhouch wind b prorerhiaDy on*
reliable, tbere are stin many ec tin eers
that busy tb cmsel v es with tbe probloa
of hameisiac wind power. Tbe prob-
km looks easy — it apparently only calls
for a lemible appbeaboo of tbe laws of
acrodyaamics to tbe old wiadnalL
There b socb a “modety si ted wind*
mi^ running aad ge n e ratin g electric
power since 1^1 near Balaidava,
Crimea. USSR. It looks odd (or
some reasoo. sotae wfaat resembling an
airplane that crashed on top of an oil
wen aad broke its wings. But tbb
mo d cra d e v el opment of tbe old. pic*
tnrcsqoe windmdls works weU. docs not
have to have many repairs, aad gen*
crated approximaMiy 200X100 kilowatt
boors per year since it was built. There*
(ore one can understand that the Rus-
sian experts are quite satis&cd. and plan
a much larger power plant of the same
type. They are well acquainted from
experience witb tbe uarrlability of tbe
wind, however, and do not propose to
use the pemer they expect to harness for
any work that has to be done ca
sefardoie. It must be hard to find such
work io Russia.
POWER PLANTS OF TO-MORROW
10 ^
Diagram o/ propoatd AtgftniDa dda-fowtr ptaat. Not* that th* contra/
gates are so arranged that, whether hay or aea bat the higher /ere/, the
direction ot Mow ^ water past th* turbine b/ades may he made tbe saaae.
Anoctyrr iuemtiaf means of bar-
DTssinf «ind pourr has been d e e tl oped
in France in the aerod yna mic bbora-
lories of Saint Cyr. Oddly enoofh. it
looks very simiiai to Dobos* solar
power plam. Its coostmetion b of ex-
treme sim p licit y. It consists of a metal
cb i tnnr y with a wide ooQar attached
around its mouth. Wind comipf from
any directioa will cause a suction ef-
fect. winch makes a horizontally
mounted wind turbine tnm. The tur-
bine b placed in the lower part of the
cfaimo cy . The French dawn that thb
deeice has an efficiency o( 100% and that
b repre s ents “tfae perfect wind tower."
la any erent. it b the simplest wind
power engine yet iarented. and suc-
cessfoDy avoids the disadrantafe of be-
mg in effici e nt if it docs not poinc ex-
actly toward the directioo of the wind.
Anything that can be said, and has
been said, afaintt wind power plazxs
applies to the fullest extent to the wave
eng in e s that hare been c o o cei re d by
ao many inrentors. Ware power pbtxs
seem so very easy in principle — a num-
ber of floadag pontoons a n dsored along
a bridge construction eq ui pped with
krers that transfer the ap-aad-down
movement of the pontoon s , to a shaft.
ennttitutr the drniag forte. Tbe shaft
then turns a pumping mechanism which
pu m p* water into a teserroir sitMteif
near by in an derated position. The
c on r ersi on into electric power b then
accomplished by a normal water power
ptam.
THEORETICALLY, there are bat
few ifafficuhies to make tbe power of tbe
wares steady in tfab manner. AanaSy,
soch a pow e r plant would suffer many
losses, such as friction of the rarious
lerers and gears, atad eraporation from
the open teserroir, to name but a few.
One may dbmis* consideratioa of these
obstacles in riew of the magmtude of
tbe power available. Still, it has to be
admined that the power would not be
reliable imlest the power plant b built
at a seashore, w her e there b heavy sea
110
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE>PICTION
ilamt t Tt f y 6mj ct the jttt, and where
at the tame time a bixe natsnl reterrotr
cxntiiSenNjr hifher than tea krd t*
availaUe. DooUeas there are tfaocca
that fulfill an tbete c o n di t ion t . bot they
are rare asd the majority of them are
titaaietl in placet where there viQ be
httle need (or power within the next
few ce ntu riet.
The reproach of unreliability does ooc
apply to the projects that woric with a
dig e rence of tem peratu re, cither b e t w e en
•urfacc water and cround water of a
warm tea. or betw e en surface icc and the
water underneath a cold tea. The lattrr
project tt connected with the name of
the physicist Doctor Bar jot. the former
has bcCTtne known mainly through the
e a pe rimen u of Professor Georges
Oaode.
While Barjot's plans have not yet
proerc^jed beyond the sufc of calci^*
tion and imcst%atiao. Oande was
fortunate enouefa to be able to mike
quite extensnre practical experiments on
a rather larfe scale.
Claude's idea b to utilire the dificr*
cnce in te mp e r ature between ssriaoe
water at about J0*C and fround waur
at about 10*C or lower to drive a low
presMire steam tnfine or itmm turbine.
Bu^b ^aTreaPy hb idea. It was sii{-
(cMed 'ior the first time by Professor
d’ArsocTal in a paper pubtisbed on Sep-
tember 17, 1881. in the Revw*
At that time, not much attentioo was
paid to the su((estioo akhoufh d* Arson-
Tal was a famous physicist. In Norem-
ber. 1926, Professor Claude and P.
Booefaerac joimly submitted a report to
tbe French .Academy of Sciences wfasefa
dealt with exp er im ents made with worfc-
inf models of a low pressure power
plant operation ou a t em pe r ature dif-
ference of only 15*C Som time bur
tfab model— or a similar one — wras
demonstrated to the members of the
Academy, and in April, 1928, Oande
and Booeberot put the finiihim touches
to a power plant near Oufrfe-Naxibaye
(Be l g ium ) which was visited by many
incerested scientists. The turbine
vvorked well and generated about three
times as much power as was conssaned
by tbe anxiHary machmery necessary (or
t^ novel arra n te m ent. A still larger
ex p erimen tal power plant ou the nortb-
cru shore of Otba followed. Oaiide
had much bad back with thb plant.
Twice, tbe inile-loog tube that was to
bring cold ground water to tbe surface
was lost or ruined, and when tbe plant
was finally finished it was found that
the anxilbry machinrv used up more
power than was generated by tbe tur-
bitses and dynamos.
. The experiments at Matanras da Cuba
were a complete failnre as far as this
partieubr ve nture was concerned, bot
they did noe disprove the feasibility of
tbe pri n ciple . In fact. CUbdc was not
disc our a g e d , and bad tbe French steamgr
Tumisii refauih for his purposes. Mu^
of lus trouble had been caused by tbe
(act that tbe floor of tbe sea sloped
d o w nwa rd very gradually, vrfakh neces-
sitated a tube 2000 meters in length to
reach a depth of about 700 meters.
Da n gl ing from the ship, the tube could
be much shorter, since it could be made
to stpnd practically vertical in tbe water.
This reduced the power lost in pump-
ing tbe cool vratcr. Surprisingly cnewgfa.
tbe new power plant was not a great
success citber. There wras alwrays trou-
ble with the long tube and vrith tbe
auxiliary m a chine ry.
WtfF-X tbex failures of, tbe applica-
tioo of a sound principtie became known,
the Germans. Wilhelm S chm i dt and Dr.
E. Braner pointed out that they had
publisfaed (independest of each other)
treatises ou very simibr power plaras in
1922 and in 1924 respectively. Both
of them had apparently known of
d’Arsouval's paper, and had not devi-
ated from his suggestions as had O a nde .
li their scheme (which i n volves tbe use
— 3»r
^ POWER PLANTS
' ef liquids of lov boiUii{ poioi. msttad
' of vatrr ia a partial ncoum. u tried bf
Oaude) foDoved, lone of the
aa s i h a r y pumps aad coodtmers would -
become obsolete, which mifbf limplifT'
the plant tuffi c ien t l y to make k prac-
ticable.
Dr. Barjot’s s u g g e s tioo is esteatiaHy
• the same, but works wkb stdl lower
temperatures. While the d’Anourale-
Qaode-Schmidt-Braaer projea applies
a *hot'* liquid of JO*C aad a 'cold*
one of about 8 or 10*C. Barjot wants to
me water of ooly about 4*C>.^ bb
* 1101 “ bqoid. and c^ ai*, or ice. at more
than 20*C below f r e exia f point. His
proposed power plants hare two tre-
mendous adTantaccs : they will be cstah-
« bshed in rc(ioQs where there is no other
source of power, and they lack the loaf
tube that annoyed Claude to much. Bar-
jot's water tn^ b only loaf enoufh to
reach throuffa the ice a lew doaen meters
at most.
Claadr's project, as wcQ as Barjot's,
is actually a solar powe r plant. The dif-
heukies e n co un tered in. the various cz-
per iment s' show afain that k b by no
means easy to harness solar p ow er .
But what about I .mar fl ow er ?
Er e ly body knowrs its man il e sta tioo —
the dd^ Tbeb power b so e n o em o us
that we can afford to neflect sohr en-
erfy if wte mccccd in putiinf the moon
on the job to supply our cnerf y netAff
P rin a O Te tide powe r pbnts hare ex-
isted about as lo^ as windmills. The
^ first watermills runninf with the Urcam
of (he tides are menbooed as early as
the eleventh cen t ury , and since then the
problem has afain aad afain tempted
the imafinatioa of mrentors. But k
needed the developeDent of electrical
poqer enf in ee iin f to ri pen the various
ideas (or serious di scu ssio u .
Probably the first exper im ental elec-
tric tidal power plant was buik in 1913
near Hnsum. on the Kortb Sea. by an
ca f i n ecr from Hamburf, E. F. Ptine.
t 'n
OP. TO-MORROW 111
Peme planned sercral brfr tidal power ^
p la nts The steal exper imental plant
near Husum was only to ans w er cettaia
que Stin es frequently beoufbc np in Wi*
endfic mettinf s. 'The small piM was a
focoeu« *11 tbt ftsscftioQS
Pein e had made were proven to be cor-
rect. U n fort una tely, the work vns in-
tempted by the World War, and was
not r esu med afterward in Germany.
But other co u nt r ies bcfan to pay at- -
tention to the “new“ i ntrlawi to aria
pow er from other so ur ces than 'coal aod
oiL Soon after the war. a medmm-saed
tidal pow er plant vras imtalled at the
mouth *aT 'the rirer Diourb in the
Bctrafnc. Fraaoe. NaturaOy. tidal
power plants work iutes unttetnly i thcro-
fore the F r ench plant was cou pl ed with
another power plant |ix kffometexa op-
stream. Both tofether fnmbh the cor-
rent needed in the arsenab of Brest,
the ne ar est hifer toara.
It seems that tidal p ow er plants wil be
of frtat importanoe in the near future.
There are only mino r practical dift-
enkies to be oa cr eotn e. Bat they do
base the bif dr awbac k that theb power
b not steady. The best of many po^
sible soIntioQS for tfab drasrbnck teems
to be the one that has been suffcsted
for s te ady in f the pow er of araae pomtr
pfants As lonf as the tides are mn-
ninf in or out there wffl be some rxwja
powe r that can be nsed to pum p anter
into an derated ftscn ro sr. Thb then
helps to sty pf y the dnrinf the
c o mpar ati vel y ifaon paatrs betw een the
tides. It b tme that tfab amdlbry
power phm increatfs capkal expendi-
ture in an unpleasant man ne r , but there
b DO other rray to do k. The other
methods of^storiuf dectric enerfy arc
sdB mote expensive.
THE LARGEST project amoof the
many that have been made b still the oot
that was ann o un c e d several yran afo in
Enfland There b unaOy a very faifh
tide at the c^mh of the river Se v era
f
lU-
ASTOUNDINO 8CISNCE-FICT10N
wfaerc it «i npti c» iato Briao) Oaimrt
The prajcct csDed for dannint Bristol
OmiwH ini’ Bcacfaicy. for huM i n f a
Irwf needed nihrjy brid(e dote to the
iam, for .ptadn^ an artifidal lake oear
Tiotern \j draina n the mcr Wjrc and
for ianalTim a pow tr plant o< a b out
half a ndboo horsepower. The proh-
aUe coats of tbit fifaiiM project were
rstiaaated at 30 tnilhon pooods.
The pro|ect a ooo found sercre criti*
osao and fissaDy it wras decided aot to
m o tinM e until a n u oab er of' technical
^a i ont were solved. For this pur*
pose, a gnafl ezpcrinsental plant was
bedt in the eic in it y of the planned data.
The enf in e er s that constructed k tried
to find a sefation for storini; the p ow er
other than in an artificial lake. For
ansdiiary power they used a steam
p o we r pbm with dectricaBy heated
boiieTv They then constructed a larce
bcat-imolitcd storage boSer to store
stcasn. If this met hod works out as wefl
as k b hoped by ks krrentors. It will be
an importaot step on the way to efi*
caewt tidal power plants.
Of the many cither projects, only the
one of San Jose Bay in the A rfcn t inc
shall be ment io ne d. Coo d it ie n s for a
tidal power plant are sdeaT is this spec
San Jose Bay has an area of not less
than 780 square kilomete r s, but to dam
k. a dam only seren kilometers in Icnfth
wonld be necessary, because ks mouth b
scry nairww. At the same time, there
are always stroof and high tides to be
•
found in the GuU of San Matias. And,
aintt the bay sooth of San Jose Bay,
N’nesa Bay, |tres access to the same
territory oootroOed by San Josi Bay,
k would not crea be necessary to put
lodes in the dam. which, of course, malys
matters oasier and saxes much money.
« It has been calculated that the dam
could c coscnkn tly bold 376 lets of water
t ur b ines , co u pled with cenerators. About
IS millioo kiiowatt hours would be (cn*
erased dady — twice this amoun t when
there b spriac-dde. The pauses between
the tides would last only fdr one and a
quarter hours, which could be ^rideed
easily. Since the Republic of Aixeiuine
hat to imp ort screral nuBsons of tons of
coal per year, one can understand that
the gov er n men t b very much inc e r e st ed
in tidal power plants, and has had a
mmshrr of ether bays with similarfy fa*
xorable co ndkioos insatifated for the
SUDC pWpOiCw
The plans for “Lonar Power Plaacs.'*
haxncsbnf die energy of the tides, bare
doubt l^s progressed farther than any
other plans fm fin di n g and harnessing
dew lourtcs of e n ergy. Only rokanic
power plants hare progressed beyfind
that stage; they arc already in ex istence .
If ooe compares the matter -ol-fact Ian*
guage of tidal power plant nsrenton.
with the many 'iTs~ in the speeches of
scienttsts trying to harness solar power,
one feeb biz a b andonin g solar power -
ahogethrr and puffing the moon to the
job msiead.
Thomas Calvert McClary
Author of "Rebirth"
Brings a great new serial beginning i^ the
April Astounding
‘‘Three Thousand Years!’'
114
ASTOUNDING SCIBNCB-FICTION
Qmmtmm thiwt. h»w*rtr.^that
2 Mm mcA fi*t tUMt m p * i*
tfftaiM dinrtitmt, an tnwaOimt tarn
tham with taaptrt ta aach
athatl
Marta it oMt tawaruhla.
tfa traa Maa
tara ariaam aa a
I ; «••••»• rlcftor tHtat that to
' ItfMvtoim* m4a to Utol . wtth-
~T tow/i r » ^ rnTmaat aa atatmaatt
am tattmthta aaaawamt ta U*to at
I W mChm AOtotM at Ka :
to to
Times To Come'’
• Page 4 \
IIS
ASTOUNDINO SCXZMCS-FICTION
VIBRATORY
Warner Van Lome
The TMttixbed pillMt n-
taneJ — iolU — to(
there was a lire e r e a t mte
oi that other rihradoa
world trapped in k——
120
ASTOUNDING SCIBNCE-FICTION
of cxperiaxodaf with tbe enkaown.
His coQca(acs would bare coosidmd
him impc a rtifa l if tbtjr had kaown of
hts theories, hot he kept theta to him*
sdL la his brood Est of ac yainti occ s
aad friends there wu no confidant, no
one he conld tmst vith the .dreams
cioaest to his heart.
The rooen he stood in vas barren and
ooU. jet to him it was beantifuL Eten
the dtt^ cemen t walb and rusty steel
beams were aitractrre. His face {lowed
with the luster of youth. His shoulders
were square and hb chest thrown out.
He w«s a new man!
It was worth aO the effort and hean*
break of the past years, the many times
be had thrown away all eq ui pme n t and
started afaia at t^ bct inni o{. This
time be kmtw there was no mistake. J^or
momhs be had chee k ed and recfa e c ked
the apparatus, until each minute port
was perfection.
Mlicn be was satisfied there could be
no farther u npeor em ent. it was ready
to be tested.
Errty spare minute was spent search-
ins ^ * bnildms that could be rented
reasooahly. There were many which
mi{ht hare answered the purpose, but
they never quite met the r e qu irements
set up in bis min d.
He was pbyinf with ribratioa — such
as he bad nerer knorn before — and it
req wr ed a solid stroctnre to withstand
the strain.
^^'hen he discovered an old factory
that hadn't lecn occupied for the past
ten years, his hopes mounted. It had
exc e pt i o na lly bmry beamiof and
loundarioo. buik foe the machinery that
lomaKly filled the three floors. It was
much tarjer than he r eq ui red, but that
made no difference.
The roof vras in bad repair and some
of the {lass was broken, but it seemed
to be in fairly solid cnodition. It was
the type of stractan that would stand
(orevv nwlrss k was tom down.
It was far cnou{h from any h a b i tation
to {uaraatee safety beyond the {rounds.
He didn't kwmr that there would be
danfcr, but the possibihty must always
be considered. There was no inkin{
of the results that mi{bl be obtained by
puttinf the forces to work. Ererythinf
beyond a ceruin point was pore specuh-
tiaa.
The more be examined the heavy con-
struction. the happier be became, He
wandered throu{h the empty rooms as
if they belon{cd to hiin. In bis eyes
even the din{y HC{lect disappeared and
everythin{ appeared as it mi{ht have
vdxn the buildin{ vras new.
V^’ben be sou{fat the owner, to rent a
portion of the place for the sommer
months , the man bn{faed. *
“I don't know what you want the*
bu il d in { for. but as loo{ as you don't
ma off vrith it you're wdco« to use
k. in never occu^ it a{afn. anyway.
Blow k up. if you want to; k't siniply
junk now.”
When the swiatr professor was bum-
mio{ a popular air. as be entered bis
apartment bouse, the doorman forjot to
speak. He bad been emp loy ed by the
bouse for ever five years, and knew
Professor Ernest well— or thou{ht he
did. But k was the first time in hts ex-
perience that the man had shown any
commoo. human feefinf. He had always
been the stiff, proper man who said
"{ood erenin{ with just the same in-
fketioo in fab voice:
AS HE appeared the next mo mk >{
wearin{ a necktie wkh two colors in
It. the man looked at him doae l y. There
could ooly be ooe answer, the profesaor
■nut be in love.
The doorman was a{ain astounded at
the bundles of heavy material that came
from the professor's apartm e nt . It
seemed itnpoissible that there was room
tostorekalL Several times he dropped
faints about the contents of the cardEnOy
wrapped padcafcs. but r eceived no re-
VIBSATOSY
m
Hwrne. At taoes they wtrc m b a ty
ifaat he coaid hard)) handle thna. and
the proicMor bad to bdp fain land
them into the car.
Stoviy the e qwpmew t was aorted and
an ewMeri ia'the e n apty taldim The
that was taldof faem ana
peen iar in that there were na krfe sec*,
lions Every taat was so csMtrwcted
that it ebold be handled and transported
cady. There were parts as hac as
the wor ks «l a snaB wascfa. srtak others
were scctiacal faeanB(. Each port was
narked, and itted the one idipiain( to
periecboD.
Nine years of effort had (one into
the imaif n mn r and aasenbSac ^ the
sectica s of the narhinf . and each had
facca tes t ed to perfom as niAsidaal
task. Only the eo r ap l etrd ooit r enaincd
to be tested.
Poe eleven years before that parts had
ww no cncfl* lo oiicifQ cdc
faflarca. Twenty ye ar s of effort wvnld
fae rafatanalnl in a few na n ules of opera*
tion. Bnt after workkif oat the only
poaaAfe way to cifriin resoks tfaroo^h
llSnDOO, MOOcTI CrM3I wSS flUnOCO
lo in v es t fail fafe sa si ms in one {rand
stroke.
■ As be Wood ia the roan, fadof the
tr s mdrtrd apparatas. there was no qaes*
tion in fais nnnd aboot its s n cc e ssfal
o p erat ion. He bad taken no rfaanrrs
Every part that bad shown a pnatifaiity
of fa3^ bad been re placed by one
wi tb e n t weakxKss. He knew it was far
s up e ri o r in coostruction to asytbiac of
the type that bad been attemp t ed before .
For first time in fats kfe be sras
nrisfird sritb fab own in d i r irtiul effort.
The dream of fab school days had
been followed carefully. He naO re*
mwhrre d the day fae li^ is te ned to the
faetuit on vibration and faad d eci d e d to
find oat whether the theories on the sob-
)ect were correct. The same theme faad
remained the drfeinf foecc of fab ife.
akhtanfa it was over tfairty years since
the seed of an idea was planred ia fab
With hb maefa i ne it was priaaitle to
create vibratian on sndh a acale as faad
nev er been known. It would not be
heavy vibratica that wooid shake a
s tru ct ur e, bot k coaid be tuned to any
key of t^ acak. It coold be c han fcd
one bnndredtb of a tone to search «n the
key of any ch oa en issbject. For the first
time in h b tocy it would be pntnbfe to
dnpkcate the vibr ati o n al co^ of any
obiect by meehan i ra l means. ,
If necessary, the tone coold be s li ced
mto ooe hundr ed more ffa n n ^ea— tbn
ocipnal- tone* of one key be com i m the
total ranfe of the board. After nrikinf
a note that bro u ebt respon s e from the
s elected object, k coold be varied in
»h~wr wifaiitejwMi am o u n ts , to aenreb
out the otmosi vibratioa of tbe cord. It
coold be di vided and. divided
nadl die danfc of tone, ohtained wiibb
thy machine, wooid be be y ond dctectioa
fay tbe hnman car.
Then it coold be aanpBfied to almost
MiSwFwtyH vnbime to shake the g ro u nd,
or tear the aorface of an c ardmm vrkh-
otrt tS i to r tion. fafen coold be dr fv tn in*
sane in a few inirwtes by am p i%w a
tone that grated'on their nerve sjmm .
P ro fes sor Ernest knew the
*"'™" race faad been gi v en p ro tecti o n
by Bitnr e . It a voided arrid i fott with
vibration dat might otbervriae have
taken place. Tbe moat dangcroos notes
were those which were cons id eT ed <hs-
cords. and man naterally did not nsc
them
IF any man ap proached while he was
testing the mafhmr. be wooid dank a
thnwsand demons had been t ur ned Ubae
to create as modi discord as pnssiblr
at tbe same time. In tbe scale of db*
cords there faad n eve r been manyjx*
p eriment s; it was the one rmiain i n g
field that mi gh t have amariag resoks.
The room of the old factory, which
s tretch e d for three I nm d r ed fert wkh
121
r
/
ASTOUNniNO SCIXNCS-FICnON
• %
kw cfiHCflt wsis cod nuty ifcs bcHP*
1^^ MPpClfCfl UBC IDr anCm mBOtWMOfj
in Era^f cjro. He ^linffrt i f ou n d
nriih pride end pfe ajurt. It wns Ids, to
do with M he pteeted dorinf the ka(
The mochifi e hod been stendn^ lud/
for Bse; ioe ihrwit e mo n t h briorc the
doiim o( the antr eriit y. Each dqr
the p eo fcm oc faimd time to nm out and
look it over carcfnBjr. to check and re-
check etcry part. Since the imch i nr
was aaMmfaied. it was hard far him m
keep kb aoind on (be sohject be was
icachiaf . He was Iriof in a dr e am .
The efaciiic wi rio f ia the hnfe bold-
fsa ri *- -a ■ a - _ J ^ _ J J
B^k Qmfl SOBB CSCC30BQ SOB ■QBBB* SOB
wm l leaks ia the roof had been re-
paired. Erc r yt hio f had been fone
over to make it cnmfarta bfe and prac-
tical far the CJtpctimen L Lifbts might
be s w i tch e d on in any part of the stme-
tnre. and eve r y power ootlet was ready
far nse.
Only a small m ot or was req uir e d to
oper ate the m a rh i nc It puirycd air
p c es s tire ieto a small tank, and the air
was nsed far power in the small parts.
Ia this sray the vibratioa of the motor
was s epar a te from the parts to be
epe r ated. arsd they swe not (fistnrbed
by ootside md o rtwe . It transferred the
power efBrientl y. withoot any so6d ooo-
Dcction. thro u gh the apparatu s.
Oirce assembled, dre ap-
peered Bee the keyboard of a giant
organ, with a boat Her c ooapartment — wx
feet sride. by nine fact in length — bebmd
the co n tr ol s . Thb was packed with
parts faom the smallest, taot wires to
hrge metal t ubin g and w ooden Antes.
The srhole thing stood about sbt fact
hiffc. with the keyboard halfway op
from the Aoor. On the back side there
were*scTcral snal conekke amp&ficrs.
which could send fartb an unbebevahle
solnfTse of toood.
As the professor's f in g ers ran over the
k e ybo a rd, sound is wsed from the ampS-
Sera. To him k was sweet mute, but
lo any one efae k woold bare setmed
Bk the nxMt car-spfink« racket im^
abie. He had >o b ecome a ccus t omed to
handing k bcfarc any atirm pt at a Kt
rcaak. Esvry smal coat r ol mast be
ats H fud . until k becaasr s eco n d
natarc to nse them. One ink misrakr
offset hours of <
far a c ert ain r hy thmic a l strasa.
As the days passed, Ernest spesd
more and snore time at the s t r a n ge key-
board. He reached the place when
be could fallow through a strain nntd
k bad grown to nnbeievabk pecnKirky.
Small mrtalic objects wrere nmde to
vUmCC DOOrC CDC BDpUKTBo IBXU IDftJ
aknoat shrieked faom the strain. The
pro f essor had to co v er las cars with
heavy wr appin g at tkaes. to keep the
sound from r rarhin g bis cardrans.
Even then he t ur ned away srith a spit-
ting hea dac he .
Some of the nearest nei g h bo r s bad
beea very mneh int e reste d when ErsKsc
moved fats e guiiawn t iam the d eserted
factocy. Th^ had come to peek into
the beofcen windows, and t o me bad cren
come to the door far a view of the aew
Their ^sniosety sras'not atisfir d, al-
though k ap p ear ed^ Hbc some odd type
of crpn iinril the first mains of dis-
cord * rang through the empty Aoors.
Then they were srilfiag to stay asray.
*The professor has si mply bro u gh t aa
organ out here to practice on — and from
the noise, be ceroialy needs Che prac-
tice.-
NOW a bright glovr had come into
the face of Robert Ernest. Evcrytlaag
had dev el oped just as be had p h nned
In constant testing the m n ehine had
sh own act resnks. ioOomv»f the lines of
fats dteoey as forecast in fab mind.
The d^ casne sthen be was ready
to try the great exp e rimes st. Every door
arsd every w in dow in the boilding was
sealed carefoOy. He srooU take no
on anycoe sra ode r ing m when
<•
VnSATOST
m
tke rttrit io n w*s at farce . It
kr*c ■ptcnipc effects on the tcaak. aa 4
■11^ be sfawn fatal *0 tbe'iatxvfar.
A c ai e lu ft y faihttH chair stood be-
farc the bif kei b oai J. The mirtfi o gi
ti soft nib ber wo uld absorh noat of the
■uB)hia( effect of bsfber WbrMiou, ytt
there was a rhance that it would affect
^ hiui Bore tfaaa he tfaoufhL Thehana
s y acjM woold tMt re s pood to r farat icu
the way fuy eaetal-cous tr ucs e d kult i n f
would, a^ yet it uB(ht res poo d cnoach
to upoet Ids unL
Bcfarc ttaniaK these expensaeats, ht
arrasifed far rsesythsai; ia case of sod'
dot dfsrfa He left details of al et-
p criai ca ts he woidd carry oot.-aad de-
sifas of the BTt d nr ased... If be
br om fat oo tSsassrr, they wou l d kaosr
how to avoid the saaae resalt aesn.
It had always bcea fats dreaai that it
would be possible to tear a aietal bar
apart with the ri bra tio B which fated its
peculiar rhjttsii rti each i a di s i d us l
abject cootaiaed its owa rfaratiooal
cord, and if it could be d u pi fcs lc d by
awchasdeal uiraai^ it ssouhf base aa
He b cB es e d that k aufht erea pass
throuch daaces, resukiac ia s t /amc
sew farces. Where the experiaicats
sreold lead, or bow they wodd ead. stas
heyowd bis theory. He ha c w thM be
could obtaih mnht that had never beea
a cromp b ih ed before, aad wmUh the new
rr a ctio a take p la ce .
He was Koiaf to attroyt a fat. The
Saul Biachine was expe cte d to d u ph rata
the tone of the hufc buildinf. ""‘"f up
sibratioa t hr o m bo u t the itru ct ur e . He
didn't intend to carry k bsycod that
point, bot tioopiy test the th e ory that
aay object of any siae ooold be thtirra
by the poorer created io a BoaO nxaor.
As the sound increased in vo h nu .
Robert Ernest c o vered hb cws care-
faly. The doors of the teaiporary rooai
were thrown open, so be could sec the
knfth of thie boiMkn — to the dinfy
srriadows at the far end. His c^aipounl
srras on the gro f d tevd. arfacre it had
bceo cauer to dose off a unall s ectiou
far the early exper i a i en ts. The two
floors above bad ao partkiooinf .
It was early a tom io f w hen be sat
down at the keyboard aad tried the fast
stiaiu of rhythn. Ablien darknesa feO
be sns still searc h i nt far the onknowu
hey. but twice be had fek a sEffat npi
of respons e in the stru ct ur e. Tins nar>
r ow ed the ra n g e of tone down iKghfly,
and he act the m a rhi n r wkfain that cyde.
‘Three tiaui more the budding thasrad
afigfat response, but nodnng that would
hold safilidcntly long to carry th r o u gh
to dieTftratioa of rh y th m . At hat he
shsU the tn a ch i ne dosm and onbd
a w ay . He had hb first am uth f nl of
locn IS gneew pubii» imbc rbo scob
tor g ott en sdale he ddved iolo the ua-
loiosvn.
The faiowiag mornin g he started the
agaia. The work of the day
b efor e bad hid a foianhtion to start
from. He had beea able to leave the
saox settiog eaidcr which there bad been
sight resoks the day before. ‘The loae
was oely sightly Affer ent fram a varsa*
tMO n ttinpcfgtufg,
Knowiag bow the vihratioa weald
have to be changed to in sl rh cveo a
suuS am o unt of dimpn c sa ia the ab,
Ernest bad feen loath to have it to the
cicnlog before. How k rapared hoars
to obfaia the suae res u lt <o sbfae the
same r es pc us c ia the b uildin g and vary
k to search oat the peenfiar off-tooe
which would aflect the stni ct ar e vtiih a
true key.
AS vifarttioa iw the ttedworfc re-
sponded to a note of the as a chinr . dw
professor transferred the range to wsdaa
the SHuU ourgin of the oote. Then
the tone was sobd i vided into alaihsl cat
laindr cd separate changes. They were
so sight thm k r eq uir ed a ch an ge froaa
the faigbest to the low es t tempo far the
homan car to detect. The r an g e be-
tween seemed idcnlicak
124
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION
0
0 tS- •irufta'c •'>
>»:r t! ! • C'«ir frii*Ti t,nr
>oT»«i J Kir !*r4ni. ! thr rT>!
■ •’I tSr A»>*. ti>rr <juitrr j!:*n
an« «<K<^ A* l<" thr
•'•(tf.Th. r-n'»t matitjt'I thit jwc
• ^ «4rH t»<> liur>lTr'l !prt fti»ii
I tn>
hrifi' It \tV*trl fc-* tr-rv^Vi tKit
It f < it t • '"ii in i:>
nw'r'in^- Th* cnfcnjt i!»nr m*. Oak-
jTg ».■* lurd l.'at a cl*>l om-
^tantiv r«>.< fn*;* ttic (aliiivc J“Vv^' The
larti tniient i»i« lumr'! !■» f»»m-
tir-r lu^lrr the ftTrtt <>i iSe
Petfufi' it iu't lit'fibtr'i mner <>( the
\ihcitinn than t!>c te-^ ••* t>» Irtsrnj;.
>e( It leemnl ti. !*■ akeir in it» »te>ly
»KiVjnj The veavo cement ceiknjj.
MjrnciTvlinj the top. to Sake '
~»l»<htl>. ar>! sjilJenK- a Ur]^ j»ece «■<
llie cement to tlie A«jc.
Still the j*»iIe»V>r heVl that tone. The
• leant Mrnxd |.> >hi\er a» it abMctieil
the ih.vlhrr>*>em fucth front the «bra-
t'lCT. The iteel leeTjecl to almcxt muon
ur*Wr the lemhc atraiic and lead* of -
[ertpiratiua inhered on Kme»t'» loce-
' head. For Mxnr unknom-n reaii'et hr
fell afraid, but aroukl not case chc pees*
»orr <d H» fiejer on ker «bi^
catiiol the diiturbance.
The Leant ha>] reached it* trtnx»t
athrati>«i under that tone. .Vi^ tone,
three lte>> hifher. replaced tt. Apia
the leant epheted and stxmk front the
strain. Ivt thi* time it»^ action «a* *
prater than bef.ter
Once apm a ditferent key »at de-
prr*ied m the ribratoey scale and a^n
the leant shook, but shshtly less thi*
tine For a k«J)c lime tbe keys srere
staticlied lock and forth, uidil the ocae_
nhich crea—d lie tnoM aetson became
a certamty. Then it «a* locked in place
Once more the raryre of toese «as
Hunted, until the f<emer tr*ie of one
A> ht» ttapr* crept urthrr an! far-
ther alon^ the kethurd. the (e«ifes*<e
*tarnl in a»e at the work created In
Ins tiani Slamly the wxmd in the latC'
factor* laded out N'nte ke* * in a tow
cent forth rso aiklililr scxavl The ru- .
th-ne »a* cendinj; f«eih tie *ane tone*
ll-a; It ha>l earber. Iiut rsm they t»ere
c'jt to the ftned {K»c;ble ikxrrr.
Then one of the nine ctlent keys »a*
pfesced. the steel learn abnoct (Icmed.
For a time it seemed to rrfriatn motion-
less frojn ribralsun cd loo hijit a ter*po
to be tiscUe. then it slumly faded
Tl.rrf tier a*y (van* Iherf •
Tle-tsindutss at thf^lar end of dte
buikimi; «err \isibSr in an unbroken
ro«. nhece a fe«*nanutes before they
had been rroeved lu the steel upright.
For A bxtg lime the professor held
the key' rigid Hts hand traV cold, and
nu m b ness crept up hi* arm. The ex- •
perinte n t had gone lesocsd the pent that
he could for||en the resuh.
X** cemy had era sol to fall in
clouds of dust front the crilmg Hme-4
oraxK' i-ippieil from hi* rhatr at the
sight ’ A perfcclfy round opening, about
eighteen feet in diameter, afpeared
» here llie beam liad st<«td The cement
of the flooe ahare had disappeared a*/b
tkf hoiw'
key mas dirided into nearly cor hun-
dred. J jpM^^he top to the bottetn of FOR .\ lime lie sat still. Forces
. jtfle total keybra^l^hrtT*i«cped to be that he had nesef dreamed of had hern
no (liange to firnr-i’s Inmtan he t^ h fi;ieehl into uie. lie slumped slightly,
he knem that the sibratory mas moek- andlyf^The yig of j> f a *om^^
ftig fietper^. diridHt|J jmt aeeurately * ktokei^ Imenty *eS?s older _
as it- dsd before ll< foots *Kad»bcen ■* sligaVf. l!e-liad started mtih the firm*
ebrided the first time. «* . idn that lie cwki con^al ll^e^ctioa of /
The change in the range *of sotirxJ the Aibcalotyr. , '
ma* slwmn by the^ actidh of the. steel **■ There had leei^tSe*j»*Mbtbtjr that*
/-
the hure jJroctnrr
The pHlai faded
\ ibmion >u<l to te Unit up to the
capaoty of the ot>}ect to be i^ecteJ.
The vmall tnc4or did not derefop more
thin it»_ntc4 po«er. but hid Co Uxe the
VIBRATORY
«hr UnV!:?)|; mitjid le. dunajcnl Oijf tly
in the te»t». lut he hn! r»< mli/rd it
»ouU toly le 1 mu!' lotMei thit «a«
itTerted. It hid tiVrn veArri! h><ir» to
vibrate the beam *uffic*rr.t!y t<> know
that it »a« ih>orUn{ the t. tiT entrcy
from the lfnpliher». It mou’aJ re>]i:irc
day» to accxenphih the >ame reiuh «ith
126
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION
time beiil up carter to ob-
tx-n rr>pnat«. . q
Pn^riior Rolm Ernot vinlt kmrt
in hi» chair. Hi* ihcory. that prthapt
thr lamt'ol phttic* ira^ht not true
in thi» ooe m*tancr. Iia<l txm wrucc
frgoi the beginning. It had >e«ined
at £r*t 2-^tXe that the*' dxl rwt appir
to ttbeatiooa] etiect*.
Slonaljr his head hfted ^Ii* finjer
CraduaHy ca><d the pre**ure from the
ter which had caused the strai^ aetioa
of the steel uxppon aad virroaachiii:
cemer.t ceilmc. It wa* iaoooctivahMe
that ribratioa could cause soch attsoo —
}et the of the pillar was lie*'
fore him^ . y.'
Foe serMlI . nssutes after re)rasinf
the pressure ca the key there das no *
chaKfT in the sacant spot in the buiid-
injf. The professor's feet drajjed as he
walked sl^hr toward the spot where
there should ^te been sobd^yet there
V was ;x)thinc. ' • W
® Then he Stopped ^sf^'TlJ^e w-xi^?
th^Aunda&nf as weB as in the
^^KSip^-oserhcail "It was cuned bke a
and supk about six feet below the
>urrfp n di»g level. The svbratiba in the
ptIUr alTocted everyiEii^ arosmd it foe
a rerta.*n distance. ^ "Dse >iie of both
s^ieniocs were TdenticaL
•\s his £are wandered up through the
f^imini'. he saw the bfcmt end of the
h«-*init sted beam hanipnc ijrom the
s<\-oe>d-*to«y ceibnj. ft appeared as if
it had been sheared od about the same
distance above the top of the piBar in.
the first story- as tW dtfch of the open-
ing in thr fcnodalso^
Thrrr wa» s-ax^ unreality- about thr
rs-^j^-Vetino. a?ir>*t a* if the rmptv>^
*f»»cr between the two rprninc*^ w^
^ 'tVoly-. A% Exflc't lent fyrwar'dao j<et *
. rli>*eT at ifie h^ m the fluor. hi> head
’ liit sotprthme «obd?* * .*• . <
It threw Km 06 liis feet, a* if he J-ad
ISett Jyesj back bvAome /ast-tnoTixn
where it ha<J nva<le c rrtliBf ind^r, a"
moment hr louVjnt ^»<r. Everything
tojxed in di/tv cirvle* - ‘ y
When fais vissori cleared, the beam
had become a vafue blur. jp>i the cenJ-.
rnt was be pnm ux lu form in it* (■ricinal
state WTale he lay stiH to iret hi* bear-
injj*, the prnfe»*eir rrah/ed that the sup-
posedly >heared-o<I sectioo of beam
overbad had been *upported by some-
thing tancsble. Invistbility bad done
away with its appearance, but not with
its sQppiftrt of the sections of the floor
above.
TTiere seemed to Iw no explanation
for the eflect on the empty air surround-
'ins the' piBar. That had become a sobd
and had nearly knocked < him Kneon-
scious when be ran into it. It haij ab-
sorbed t^ same ribratioo as the JOjbd
materials.
An axis WAS evidr.-uly crated
bcaflr* I*CThij-. there Lad been fMd^fd^
a new existencr (or hianimatr inn(s.
porrly. ^ accidmt. It had made his
head ache to follow the s:ran|Ce behavior
of his eipfriment.
Haring de^^rosed the piCar *throu]:li
some new (or^of power, i; should have
been pxse.' Bet. instead, it was return^
in( to its oei|^al*Mate. Even during
its sfxpp^U^isapparance somrthsnc
had repiacW it. to keep the »uppocts of
the building intact.
THEN he sat \n csclama-
tion escaped las bps' Twice he rubbed
hit eyrs. but each time he saw the same
pben o mmon.
\Tkfte a«r « f/rV cfrafwrr hriny
formfj sritkim lk< fJlar’'
iWre was a laltlr coin|' oa within
the char, tanjpblc >pace around the
Iwaijif Some bvr ihmjj was wpiirminc
and f^.3i|tS thc-rrLamatxn of the stewl ■
in its orixmal state. The tnrw was
being Swf oyf <*I tktff by the creature!
<.-ivmes:'* hair vvwl tu stand <jn' md.
He w^ i»< *scpeTstrttoais lut it was
alswst too much to stand. He cowfin't
moment hr inuVJn't ^-rr.
tujxed in di//v cirvle*
forehead
fisrardv
. VIBRATORY
Ixlartc lx
Hr virjk UkL »illi a «i6»n^ Tbr
nrct* «•! t.'r f»»t k» iixmmt* brrn
tu> Ihtxh lu >UQd. He >onV into un-
trielMrO <A!i%ica.
It «a< an btur later «hm he awoke.
Hr br «tiH for a few tnuenratt. tr}io( to
renxti'Jx-r jia»t rienii. He knew there
wa* sometlunf that he tk«»ld f t me m ber.-
lilt moj jerked back at the sound
c-I fecu^iar noises from near bjr. He
.txxi which ^a* sini^) htxd with
hr'wcuVI hate been free." Dct be Iia^
been m the part that rrptesee.ted lie
dits^ied faHai. in whateier >Ute c4 ^
cxisterscr he came from Wlirn the jil-
br sohdi£ed. it had lo pie asxl lease ■
room fur his hmbs within its surface.
• In the lihratkeial slate the crearure
inc*! haie be« more
steel of the sux>poru ‘.Whin the sleek / '
returned to.d« pre^.t form, by the' -
dared fct ttim his head for. f^r he
wcaild Iff what he remembered «s a
^ Tapjc (keam. When.Kr dMf£sw] statslna
enocth t^ face the pilbr acain. it prored
to be aU tco icaL
A creature Sras,hanpn|' from the side
ci the nxtal by coe Icp and what mitht#
be Vwen for an arm! It was making
■^edd tsoises. ,aod tt)Tfi|' %o puS away
from tlw pti> of the metal , . '
Siin tlir professor cccsldn'l behere
that it was true. The rortal had formed
orewiLd the two hmbs of the creature,
as if he were fused to it! ^
I If be had been hi the sectsoa of vibra'
ei^ptnoTsSl} ci Tibratson. th^cwcatmc
ht^ come with it — ewi awt ahtr i* tkt
_ Ij was cosered whh thick hair, of a
broeue hoc. 'and wore no tipi of cloth*
in^. He mi(ht haie been an ape ci
the'janfle. except that his hands were
raormous — with twelir fcifers on the
one wiach was free of the pillar. His
f|^ had t^ne chpts.
“ His'arm and Icf seeriwil to be cf abut
the san^ letplx, and were both hof in
prope>rtxn lu las bedy. Bet his |;ener^
proportiocu were sinabr to ihose^of a
man. H« wouVi stand aUBut nine feet
m
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
D
*
■V
uH. a»l mnch ^jut ihrrr hunjrrd iikJ
hitr pocni^
Thr b(lit «a> (•ur. Iwt Fttk-vI
to vcT lhat hi'> iVc »a< «nk«<h uxl
trry p>nk. St>Hfnl^ he rcili/fl lh»t
he Pitching an intrUt^ml rreature.
The lhin{ «x> n»4iuaiii' (>ir aid tu e>-
ta|ie the itnprijootuj: lurtal*
He «a< tninj ddferately lo tril the
J>eide'»»«r. thri na4iiin>. exacllr
Hahat «ia> nc'^e'i la (rre tarn (rum lu>
uncoenfuTtabSe {aniti «i.
It »a* u-elr-‘. K>J«n'Hrne41 eiwVl
rkjt mxlrrvtaikl the •tc'* Uitcuajce.
There certainly »a* j>» Imuun .eijuip-
n«nt »hich ouVI cm a nan (rye (n<u
Iraty »lm «ir!hejit*>eT».ail fihy-ical in-
jary. *r e>«e a let*. cfuce--
The n»ii <ii/dlrt)e»t <■«>»* Ic ^^ hsm)
• .ta* tryik^tTi tmpJy-tfjr u«e «d r>|!l^«heBt
nhkh va* ifnLr* aii.l» the |^u(e»ue..«
- The ton vatclan;. the mllfTihj •»
*^be Khri tlmnc up, >'• <hr lide Qt the
toetal thr<<i£h m (■hinder kit
omn tried deifcralrly ti> l!iink i4 locne
loluttan. Thr luiry man «a> abOre
. reach atvl. liar^inS at la «a>. naut be
toffrrini' (rum bek cir«-u!atKO and
the ttram c<i hit Ismbt.
There mat tumher <ait«»ie the dnoe
of the tactory and Hmevt ha.1 an arxn-
f«l nmkde leiore he ttofifvd !•> ifainV.
.V lew niPctMIt later he mat Uity mith
Itanniec and r^i'.t inan 1st l<x>l kit. At
leatt lie oaikl {uikl wane tcif^tat for
the n»an"._bidy.,etm it lictttVIdh'l free
. him frean the ta^a. * » •( ^
From llie afijaaranfe tJ Jtm** Eit^
mhere they ttuere<l,tl« tutiaie of U>e
tiert llay »rr^ i»4 injared.<V:t timpfv
xakd ttglitjuitl'.y ~tl^ uti ryf r.’ While
lar miwkevl. the j.:fart-a « rmod.mat
»«*r. '
There laih* •ee»r#<I rate *9’
o( freei'nj; tl^ uuiiM'r^m the ^[t|pA*o»r-
mg metal— lrt*rr-*reatjng ihe.tibralKai
mhkh hj«l*enahle>l' laiu t'lierarr it iti
^ ila Sra plAe. The ^afi«tdin|c. toe >t.-p>
|iurt ufdut Umfy. lacailJ ea>« hi* todert
ing mlale the \ilaati ai mat brntg Uaih
up to ac\iaiiptit!i llie tetuk. ^
ohCAin thr mnull *
ha<e ttarird the tihraliay mithuut
hothmrig mith the kiirilar. Hut lie
knem that it nsght repure an hrair. ur
earn three or f.air. lo dittrJae the
iruteriaL It ma> im|a>ttable lu judge
the time mpiired l« laiild up the (oCtTet.
at the aibratiay tiaii been affecting the
beam (or a long time beture the proper
romlmnattiai mat {<aind.
liten the aibratkai of earter experi-
mentt might hate been buiHing up the
fxnier. until it lady required the right
. touch to accTanpbth the retail.
Tlje (f»ii*n<iak ma* kg’it. Uit it >up-
• (x*«ed|ilxr *me-^t of the man tafely.
!i mac tl» fir-t time Eme>t had 4m
e the man*> ieature- ciearn. and i*»mr be
nuxreVd >1 ihc hmjfcgente in hi.* eye.
Ahtaaigli re^«^.:ir*g a rate of un-
knomn people. S|Ban uidatomn exi>t-
enre. hr mat ct^ptdy a. far up -the
scale <f kiumletlge am a liunian Imng
ot tlie ricibred \^<1f
n>r pink, ocal ta^ mat refined an>I
thomed l«t* tuffcrhig qstte plainly. The
profecuir (eft that hr had toatched a
man fnan hit r.ati»T miirte in i m t. mrith-
r«t cau-e. to o«ne into acttrange exitl-
eore tinder terrible rirrum^anrei.
There mat. ta. i.irant if rcxinunaca-
tioa brtmeen thr (mo men. yet a tJiglit
hmml of undci-tanding rxittei. The
la^4f the airn ndn mat rikiugh bkr
any l<ing*t loebmrrdte any (eel- '
i»:g of differeocr ^^etmem''tlK 1 r men-
tablie. • - ^ c .
... The jir.ii'et'or marnvd |o i Irrbpc of .
friend .^p^mltm ijie cjt^nger didn't aje
rpAr It! re-ant'lmt citiatiimv Imtead. '
■hr se^iol tv ur'^^.lliid that it ma> an
' eCperhiinital ;khTimt llat. Iiad lyhrrd >
, him in tlie pred»raii*nt. . ~
t The ycaffoiif enaMnl biin to be -in "a
Uirlr cumioctable (••ai>t<C.a'»l'1ir lri>di
ta alture the profe»u( that there mat
• r
•• •
VIBRATORY
129
no nrt^J to worry tl>f im(ir»' 00 -
. mmt ol hit Lmbv. Wlicn lx Mnilrd and
t5ir m«yr J hit thoulflrTt. at if llx odd
aituatvci »ert of no imfiortanre. Kmrtt
frh a bttlr ratMT. Hr liad brcn afraid
It nafht mah in fxmanmt injury.
Tlx ladder that hr leaned a^raint: the
poa wat uncoenfoetahir to ttand on. hut
it «at the ml)' meant of tlcnr to
the hairy rtan.
The itranjer tfvmed mterct* in
rrrrythinj abru: lime^*. Hit watch
drew altentim hx many tninutrt. at
the lands slowly crept around th^al.
CV^hes appeared to lx the preatett
martel. At he rouldn'l »ee any ate fee
them. Ik tfaook his Ixad in perpletixi.
To Iiini they were a utelctt encundwanor
wliich rettrictrd mosenxnt.
Tlx profettex landed oser ctx anxV
after another from hit poeixtt to tx
examiiKd. M first he pave them to hini
orx at a iinx. waitinp (cx them to be re-
turned l--fore stretchinp forth anot!xr._
Finally the man pided up the jackknite.
fountain fx. . and some coins wbiCii
were hinp on the beards betide him.
He wat able to turn tes'cral Ihinpt in
hit hand at the tame time Ixoax of
hit twelte dipits. They were uied inde-
pendenth of each other, so that he ccmU _
acecxnpbdi the same actioa'witli ooe
land, at if lx had more than two handt
t> nx. There was no thamh. but tlx
finpefi were of varsinp lenpth-. Tlx
Irnpevt toward the center of the row
with tlx end dipilt mat about *the sire
of tlx pcxifesior't title hnpers « Tlx
h^Cpevt was around than a
lean's llmjib. msd probably nine ioclxt
The jxofetxx lad Ixen trytnp too-
Caollr to thtrdc of some plan .wherrliy
Vlx liairy map o<iVJ lx freed from llx
imprixwunp pxtal. set Ix L.new it w^s
* uxiwti. Tom nwidi time wouU be re-
quired to cut tl-rtx)pH the hope Ririlcr
with (biJ> that wouVi pmrantee no in-
jur) ^ti Ux embedded fimht.
, -AST—* I
Sl’PfHiRTS had to Ix put in pla*e
to t-eep the buiUmp from set|!ir.»
while tlx cuttinp wat beicp done; eseu
then there would far danper of accident
He lad to pise up all hope of a tolotwwi
The man would be returned to las natiie
existence without liis visit becommp
Lnown to the world.
The professor pare bis watch to the
nan as a present. It had drawn his
preatrst admiratioa. and it meant a real
pift to him. Then- hr lumhd away, to
Ixad ftir the sSbratoryf
* The sesjoer lx was able. to strike the
vibraliod cd llfiwerl beam, the qpici.eT
the non -wrou vile b^k in*las.nomul
life. ' •
- The nochirx was not terribly heary,
and Robert I'lmest wheeled it out m
within thirty feet of where the bury
man was suspended. It' seemed that
the least Ix could do would tx to keep
the man company while he searched for
the proper vibrational key.
Hour after hour tlx keys were pressed
and chanped without result. The sanx
combinations that had caused the action
before didn't show the siiphtrst rdecT so
the beam mcaviop the stranper.
Darknms came, and still the professor
tried the conibinatiqffs. The hairy man
watdxd with interest. Seseral times,
as Ix knk*f at the proirswx. Ix nnlird
It appealed that Ix understood the
(porifenn sif the silxalory. His eyes
nrsW Kit ^ keys for a nvxnent. but
iuQowed tfx siiphtrst nvnrrmrm uf
1'Imest‘s »T;rr). *
Wheft tx was so pred liis eyes
wcki’i&'t atay ojxn.'tliq profr^sej tumeJ
away.'.'Hr fiyni las siranpe frirM
w <ksd asleep, a^ f) rebeved lus aivfl-
ijratipp ihe'buiHin^ siV«ly,'he re-
turned a slaurt time Utrr >with <a mral
fix beh of them. Xo cue brsond tbr
walls must know what lad tal^
wiflim. and tx dared not lease for lopp
Goci^ back to llx car ixsce mure, fx
returned with two narrow mattresses.
136
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
atW ht$ frMTwt to ptarr inr br-
nmh him.
Thf nan »miJcd ai En>c»i'$ ir;rTf"«
in hi» <T»n{oct, awl pifp*d,hi» hand
impahirrlj. Frccn thal^tinif tbrir
friendship mat more than jatt a chance
meetiejr. and the time pavjed faster
mhile the professcr Karxhed for the
rijht ribratioo.
, The right passeil. as>d still ify hairy
man'iras trxmd to the post mitbout
rhance cf mtrring. Ernest's adihiratkei
Wnew no hounds. Whenever be ap;'
prttarfxd math food, or simply a femr
y fcj^ 1
minutes cf coen pa nkir.ship. th^^psi.a^-
^Wrin
•mays had a sirtle of greeting J||nrieyxl-
fhtp. There mas no «ign of the
ship he mas passing through. , • .
Finany. after three fruitless days* of
searching the ribeatioos m the range
(hat had brought the rt-suh before, the
professor did amay mith every setting
ef the machine. He mas starting at the"
Irgicsir^t again, to srarth cot the proper
romWnatioe.
As he pbyed the keys carefully, tm-
derstandirg of the change in vihratioa
became clear. TV fr«im mas no longer
intact ! The fa^ that the 'man was
partly contained mitfain the surface
mtgbt 'change the tene- to aknost the
eppd^te end of the 'scale. If hr had
staxird at the beginning and searched
for the romhinatioa on the fuH scale, the
result might base been accoerphshed the
first day.
WHEN tnanv hours 'passed mubout
result. awmlxT tear assailed the mom
man.* Perhaps the leant could no longer
resfoc>l Perhaps the flesh arxl blood
rf the man affected sibratiou so that it
rould wi' linger cause the same chain
_tf rr-»u!!t.
It dnsli. mith ovt^Imehe hours
of mcnl^Wund.'mbeivlhe first dgn cf
aespense aKe*rei{ in t^ beam. Several
_tirocs he tnrd'VejJ Mesjsay.a.ft then
the other, but there- mas c^y one upCe
that had any effect. EsnjttatAjej Te-^
({oired afcwx tmo iricutes to cau«e re-
artyn.
Oner agam. a* hr liai! in the first rx-
perimera. the tme mas divided and the
key mith the greatest reaction singled
out .^gain it ma^s dirsded. and again
searched carefully. '■
5*ia times the scale m-as ti^ncted,
until there mas no detectable difference
in the full range^ cf the board. It
sriimded hke the same note, produced
■br any key that mas drpresscsL
But Robert Ernest knem- that the me-
chanical part of the v-Jeatoty m-as mork-
' ing perfectly and sKcirg the vibratkus
in aboost atocnic- fineness.
Now the beam was showing signs of
greater and the lir^ 'man
was perspsrieg fruen the ejuivering *e-
ticu uf st»eL Agsc.y shumred in his fate
frocn the metal cutting into the flesti cf
his bmbs. The viijratxio massalmost\e-
yond endurance — but hr stuUd al the
profrxsoe, and tried to hsde Hs f^lmgs!
When the proper coed mas struck,
the beam incrca^ its tpas-er. The
cement cf the floor and ceibng joined
it 'in shaking. The strange man mas
resting tn wcttocbled sleep. He mould
DOC regain coosoousness for many
hours. It had been more than rsen
his marwlcus plAsiqoe could stand.
After fastening the key in place,
there mas notlung mocc he could do. so
the prufesssor busied himsrlf mriting
notes CO the cocnplrte experiment.
Every detail mas set forth, inclodingbll
settings of the machice. so an mgir|
couM foQow them througfISbt.
He mas tired, and couki hardly
bis errs open. The fuprr awl
blurred in his vision, leasing many r.tmr
Hut be kept doggedly at the
lArs.
until it mas finished. .^t length
turned asray. srith a scribbled
-I’m going to try and er.(erJ«e.S|eieTe
^ vibratiou now. It ju-t ocwtriM to
me that I «me it to the strange man to
return tolus mtrkL* Tbrv mill be inter-
VIBRATORY
131
»
evol in rt)c 4» I itn in }iim — 4i»l '■r 4rr *'S«nc thin):» »rc Irft in 4n
. ' unkivnn <4j;c Ml ihcno tihr4ti0(i
“t'rrhjp*. to \i<i. it *<TTn» *tr4njr ha. prmni tnx- bc\<ol rn f-odr.t
l!ut »c bfotwne friend. «hcn »c drram.. \rt I nouVi we hivr b* *>*■•« >•
can't r.rn cooxrr.e. .But I admire him Ql h*) Lncmn the mch.
f‘tr fa. uncodtplaininc luture. «hile he
apfierviatr. «hat otlle I hate been abir
lu do fne hi. comibrt.
**1 mar be abue to care foe him. when
lie amie. bade »here he came from—
if »r reach the .ame place! In hit
phrucal rooditioo. from ifx terriUe
wraddnj; of vibeatioe. he miH need care
to latrvi.e. It i* nir to acctn p acjr
him throuch the .trance «aH of forte,
arx] do all in tnr penter to reimbuT>e
him for the cutTerinj; I ha\e caa>ed.
“Perhap. l imy return to thi. «orld
viTTwday. lot from the effect of the
»ihrati»y. it it better to lea re mr dit-
cnrrr tmVnomn to the world.
“I’Sea'e! \Mwetet tCw.orr. m>
nutrv win too dettroy mr machine: If
it prwe. a jtood ihm^ to carry ««t tom-
municatxwi between the two tibratiooal
ttace.. I win return. Oiherwiie. iV* rwr
make public any of ihit tniormation.
until after the tibcatory it derfrojed “
I waited many year, before writmjt
the »tory txmtainied jh4he peoaled irtet
left by^he prtifeS^, but I fiaany de-
cided to dettroy hi* machine. The ooly
proof that I have of the .trance ttory
it rmtairwd in ihe^erl beam that re-
mained bumped a. it wat deccribed
/ wtur hr/irW — / »#i t*r etrwrr
'» 4 r hmSJimj; * .
You.knofr thh familiar demon* •
ttrltioa'of the curiotu phe-
nomthpn of poUrited liebt.
anid pglatiztnc crystals
BUT— tha^, is •ocly. p/ane-
polarired liebt! -Do you know
the effects ai)d properties of
rfreu/ar/y polariMd licht? As
truly polarired ai^pianc-polar-
ired— -but paninf throueb the
polarLrinc scrrrns^ ‘ •
^ Tmt*l tctmltiMf br crwtwe
'' ifreeaa.
In the APRIL ASTOUNCT-
ING SCIENOe-FICTION
Herbert C. •, McKay
brines an article— “RAOtA-
TION IN UNIFORM"— cofS.^
pletely illustrated to show a
dore'n new phenomenon.
I
112
FLAREBACK
< by
Kent Casey
*W WM profetior'* p«rfy— oarf »fca pftwr M a aica oaywoyl
S FRGE.\XT JOHN’ WEST of
^Sjoirr I*atrol *aJ jjVxJcrrily cci the
tnxh BJ the oejoly n**n anj
ravl a J^bixIxtJ irental eye oter hi*
\ Mtuaiioo.- \\hat a boy he hail
t«i.»BTe. «jth the hall-haVr^
^ l^tlhacf rerofil had ntaJe
«tule “Wfcf'nre- »He »a» C««^g
to be a i:TTaJij|iKe-r».iayx. ^
Eree-taoctnK the galaw and
tein^ini; huiae vZit *<(^ahh. • Oh yeah?
.And ja>l a* vxMt a* he_»a» ready to’
ami had leen peo^pectinj; hjr.f
k»ogh to ini'* cofnfijrtely any <f.aacc
o
lU
An interplanetary story by a neio author
with a new style
C*^l***fC * Mart at anrihinj cl><.
alnnj; mcnr* this war with L’rlmiv In
ipitf erf hi* spaer Mpericnct iJwrf wat
tm cotnmittim for John WrM. He
didn't know moujii of tbii> fww Mofl to
epialifr.
"luM a space bum. that’s wisat I am.
And now that the hues are rSosed for
duration of the war esrn txans hke me
can't roam aroursd. Free lance, huh!
*.A>e. aje. Sir! Seijearst West report-
}nc lor orderly duty. Sirf Phooey! I
can't esen gn to the frtnt. but hate to
stick around here running errands for
Colonel Krumbr. the old Miss Natxy !
Sit here Iwiddht:; my thumbs a^ open*
inc doors for wdnskery little (oats Jjke
that Dutchman who just came in. lH
U ' I hair to contoT him safe home and
ma> e sure no bi(. had L'ramans bite him
after he's through chewing the iat with
llie Co'coeL Wotta hfe. wotta hfe!"
The Uixxer oierhead soutxfed crisply
and Serxeaa^TkVeit rose disgustedly.
“Didn't I te\j^? He's sobbed out fcis
story to the Cokinel. arsd now 111 hare
to nursemaid him home somewhere back
of brymd. WhatU fj<u bet I'm late for
chow {ettin{ back?"
Howeier, gro u ch or no (Touch. John
West was a good serfdier. His back was
as ri(id as a ramrod and his face an
expressionless mask as he cheked his
heHt and sainted before the CoSoncTs
” dedt. The “whiskeTy bttle (oai" loQrtl
lock in a hu(r armctiair. paiung his fin-
der tips together. His pale blue eyes ran
at<pr<nin(ly up and down West’s six-
feet -three.
. “This is iT«r maa.TXwtoc.’’ tlie Co5^ Ot Serdion
fly hini»cH. lie has re«|t*stcd a small sh-p
arsd a t«lat. His apparatus las l<m
mstaOrd in that small Kruyere despatch-
txsat in Hangar Xene. V'nu will fly (or
him Vou are un>Jer iiis orders until
yc«r return, and will obey tlieni as you
would my own. If some of them seem
uno^^udox lr> you. yixi are not to com-
ment. After tour return you are not
to talk, for the exjeTitnent is not foe
pubTic knowled£e. I ’nder*tand ?"
“Yei. sir." answered West. “I am
to flv under the crctlnnan's orders arsd
say Dothin(. Sir."
“Correct." Colonel Rrumby nodded.
"And that alw> to orders ie(ard-
in( the teciuixU^-anajement of the
slop. Tliai Is all Dr. ton Thril will
tell sou when he^aras sou."
f)H said, then turned to U'est.' "Ser-
Xeant'. llfis is I>r. ton TtaAI. He has
shown me some ratlicr imerestin|; data
" for whidi lie desires confirmation.
- exijcnmerts. can 1< tried only out* in
({•acr. anil since tiv doctor 1s^ unable to
WEST S.ALLTF.D. spun <e> his leel
and went hack to the iersch in the or-
derly room. Wen. tlw old (oat waut'i
scared anyhow. He wasn't one of those
that martted a nursemaid. "Obey and
keep my trap shut, huh? O. K. 'Tech-
nical fnana(ement of the ship ‘ Must
be lie’s one of these birds with a nocinn
about space maneutetin-. O. K ! IH
maneuier bunt. It won't hr the hrst time
I'te s bii m na cd arotittd space in a safety
belt after some bri(ht boy bas burnt out
his (enerator or bumped an asteroid.
Iletter-than shtin( on ibiis damn bench,
anyhow."
The CerfoneTs dcor opeisrd. and tbse
little scientist — wbiite sideburns waypine
as lie said (ood-by — brmrd himseU out
inti^he orderly room. West stcud up
Dr. ton Thril looked at
biim for a moment w-ith a cherubic smile
on bits pink face. “Ilm-m^t. Ser-
gea-nif fie chuckled. "I ask for 1 flwr
and a ship.' The ship, the Colonel says,
Is just so-so. or bie wouldn't let me play
witb it. Ehst I thiok lie bias (iten me
r
ASTOUNDIHG SCIENCE-FICTION
I
134
y
Ic4* of pOc<. \VlM m. to (TOW
tike that. nun?~
ScTgran: Weit't polrr face »Jxrwed
DO trace of the ire this qoesiioa aro6«ed.
A fresh fay, huh ? Bat bis hc]^ brom
haaJ snaffied to his hehnct-heini and his
face itwsTsl DO tnasdes as he repbed
briskhr. “Mash and milk. Sirr*
“Hm-ra-mr* the doctor cooed acaia.
“So do I. Maybe it don't morfc so •cB
with Dutchmen. .Anyhow — when can
we start. eh?“
West swun{ his field-tdt from its book
on the wail and w rirffad his freai shoot-
ders throo{fa the straps. “Now. Str."
he replied. “There are spacesoits and^
canned rations in the ship already."
“FineP chocUed the btile scientist,
picked rp hb briescase and started for
the door almost trcttia{. “Let's go. I
hope an the spacesoits aren't made to
fit yoo. I would be— er — s ur ros iod ed.
would you say?”
“Your bagtace. S*r^ West asked, a
bit taken alnck by this abruptness. Why,
the btile (OY acted bke a Marine— evi-
dently’ expected sc e ne b o )ly die to draj
his dnlTd for him. Oh well
“linjafer" the blue eyes twinkled
and a podgr hand waied the briefcase.
“You fot yours on your back, I mine
here. Why iraTel with a lot of fooKsb-
ness?” He started foe the ^an^ar. irct-
ting at a rate which made ex^ John's
lone lejs stretch their stride to ke^
THERE WERE no formabties about
the Stan. The bttle Bruyere. barely
thirty Jert loo{. lay on the ramp already.
West cast a keen eye ow her f^
iimige ap(iaratas. could spy nothing *
but a tiny, platinumbke spiderweb ou the
• hip's i»»e. In the charthouse. just
aliead of ibr controls w he r e the obserr-
er's V^iair. was located, the* chartboatd
hSd brmwcleartd away and there' had.
been mcxmcq0 a sasaH cabinet with ^ials
atld ^nle handwheeL Frons the leads '
racmirg to k. this cabinet was cirsdcntly.
hooked np to the power eimnt. That
was alL
“I see." We^r •aid to himself. “.An-
other so-called foolfeciof steering gear
that win rum the ship around on a dime
by wiggbng the pilot's e y ebro w s. O. K. !
His bnle legs win snap quicker than
mine when Old Man Tension gets hold.
Boy! Win I ever forget that guytwho
spun the old Barralong in her own
length while be was going twice light-
sperf!"
Nothing of this sobloqny was dis-
remtble in his voice as the doors of the
air loelealammed shut and he turned to
the doctor. “.Any orders about taking
off. Sirr" he ask^
Dr. vx» Theil shook his head. “No,"
be smiVd “You do that. I c-ei'i un-
derstand an ihose tkingum-a-canems. I
never was, in a spaceship before. You
jut go ahead and get away out wene-
wbere vrsth'twthing around. Then you
stop and I ten you scene more."
"Aw aye. Sir!" was West's audible
reply, « he turned his back and settled
his long legs into the pilot's seat. Oh.
.oh! He don't understand how to run
one. but be can a new war to steer
one. huh ? Never been out before, huh ?
O. K-. boy — you bro u ght it co yourself !
But bow the beck did you ia!k over the
Colonel?
.Autotnaticanr. froen Icog practice, he
tested his circuits and jiggM his fuel
gauge to determine its sens i t i veness and
accuracy, spun his ge n erator over, and
eased the repeOer throttle open. There
hiss and a rlood of fine dust
thrown np by the blast from the tiny
ship's bottom. So rapid was the take-
off that the roar of the discharge was
left behind. West's malesolent eye twin-
kled as the terrific acceleratioa flattened
. the liitle man in his seat, and he waited
* for an excitiM protest. Instead, as the
'motioa became Asier. the little doctor
' straightened hanselt 'tq* ,and tujned a
• braming face, toward his prlot? "Oof!"
he said brcathlrss}r^“Yoa gocno speed
FLAREBACK
US
Um« uj« Ixrr. I fo?" Next tJme j-oa
h»»r «l> I jrs Mxnr >«n^ and
»it n>"rc iijfii. Poet? \\>at a wallip
*hc c><. thi* little Uatl"
-SxTX'. Sir.- va>d Scjxrar.i Wot.
-rm u<oi«[o tli-inj; >ttiS and didn't
rralirr iV* thi> tiabr «oo)d hop. Ill
chokrj/f ifun a I«t nextjwic.- Bta to
he admitted that the funny little
termed to he a (ood »port»ntan at
leajt That »ocld help «heii the crack*
tip came — he v^ldn't bate to coddle a
tihineT.
FOR SO.ME HOL R> the Imle i-Hip
whutrd into tpace and toid. Far ahead
an occatiiinal h{ht could be seen at toene
distant >un flashed in the rivor*tcreen.
Hehind there wat oedy dense and im-
ycnetrahle space blackness, tor not esm
hcht-rays could keep pace with the
Brujere “Where me are nom r" tud-
. den'r asked the doctor.
“Js. t about rrotsin{ N’eptune't oehtt.”
answers d West. “Where you want to
psr
“Hm-tn-tn, to far* Better stop now
a wlule. I pse>s- Nochin( around here
to bumpr” was the reply.
.'^e-txeant West switched oS hit power
aivl'lexan to tune hit roicro-repellert
tluwh. “Xo. Sir.- he tasd. “Of course.
' we're stifl in the .Solar System ami
iberr't a bit of a dra{ on ut from the
fdanett: but I'm neutralitinf that and
we can har.^ rijht here if you writh.”
“So.- tasd Dr. ton Theil. “I ttrrtch
BUielf a Ut and you tcD nx hOw ihit
thip woeks.-
Urst at coce feD into hit Sunday*
xishisr routme. Hr had lon]( afo (ism
c|s lryiti{ to exptaso the workings of a
tpflKrditp to bynm. ar>d had driised a
tartsfymg account of why they flew and
Isow which 'sounded wrll in a tonrist't
dbry. I*it winch told absolutely nothieg
reprd^ etthet' the Ifiip or h« mecha*
.voitm f lad.to he-polite— but the Cotonel
»a> JirO on secrrvT'. Besides.' what wrat
the Use trying to riakr them under-
• ,
He mat ir4etTu}«fe>l hr x high ensw of
langhtrr. Dr. ton ThesI wa> doubled
oter with minh “Ho. ho. ho^- lie
roared “Vou are so funny! Ycej say that
on the radsu and you nuke some money,
eh? I don't mean that. Ug nun. I
mean — well, suppose you get roto the
thick asteroids ami you get t>io eixe.
Why drn't you bump cme. eh?" •
“Oh.” West was surprised itjto frank*
• nett. “Why. the netumn screen holts
’em off umi! I can get «iui of there. Of
course.* if I gel too close, it't aje to be
licklisTi. Some of those pebhlet are big
enough to puD bke a tractor*rar. I gite
ihe astnxwls the go-by when I can The
bttle cnes are just as had — the thtp paDs
them, tour scree n lakr-s an awfuk teat*
ing amt lJ>en the shops report you for
damaging gotemnient pn<peny , arsd
wasting fueL” .
y “Ah, ye*, ne u trons — I see. I won-
dered about that. Xow. this screen —
you got h on tight or you can turn it ofl.
I goers? You don't keep it to bnd. <k>
you*- • I
“Xo.- West shook hi* head. “If you
kept it turned i«,‘ you'd just bounce
around and rseter bnd till your power
ga>e cut. Here's the screen control.
S'ou can shut it off. or you can nuke
h as dense as you please. When it'* on
fun {ower. ix>t eten a space-bomb couki
get within half a pidr of the ship. It'd
blow as soon as itTeached the screen “
“FmeT tried the doaoe. “Xow yon
turn her^ around arsd you go to list
iksteroid Bek. Where.il i» rrice' arsd
thick and there are scmsr big ones — peb-
ble*. you can 'em*”
Foi^oiace West'* |cker face was
jarred, but the Colootf* soice still
sounded in his ears Sergeants were
fusd when they obeyed orders and rouri*
nurtialed when they didn't. But — to
lest a tsew kind of steering-gear in the
'Astercsid Bell!
r
13« ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
yj
SERGEANT WEST'S miLtary \o- 111 ««»» thry'rr tax-nhr^Jox ? I’ut hf a
caUilary taiVil him. “O. K . !)*<."" he loojt ^erprart W’r-X rriraine*! ticoi
^ »aiJ. mc'^t unprojosicasally. ”h\ vocr cvtraona. ^ .
jarty. I hofc >ou kit in>tnxliom how Th< bstk »h.rp drifted 3?i*l the liww-
lo tx<tfr the mtdoM.'' and be a|:am rut wrren ma<i frcw iVrteii «ith brajcr« fi
in kis rocLets. aMerti^«. kttk and Ug. Finally Wen
The bttJe man a^ain rcaretl with could nan] it do loo per. lie jerLeil a
laupkter. “No Dee«l for that." he larjje brown thundi toward the (jorthole.
rhockkd. “The widow — die it tny land* “Doc.~ he taid. “we're dnltinj lett
lady. ‘If I don't rcme lock by F'^iday than a hundred nclet I'rcm thtne prh>
to pay nty rent, the pre my rotjcn to bJei and they're bad new* to mix up
tomrbody el>e and fri^et all alrut me." whh. IXn't you know ct. oe hate you
W'hat could a pry do with a dumb jun gone nut>:"
chxk like that in rharce? Like motl “I hope nor." tniikd the trimtitt.
(hrmic adventurert. W'ett wat brate “Now you can cut tut* the neuiroa
rfiiu£h foe two in emerjency. Hut he ttiirid. tcof"
cvnVl "see oo teme in huntinj treubie Tbi» time W'en'* outward impertur-
]mt for the thriQ of it. It mi^ be fun bability (are away completely. Hit jaw
for the cuckoo bite doctor. Eut it wat drrpp^ and he ttarteil to tpeak. lot
jun a headache for him. Eten thit bttle Dr. ton Thril tpokr a^ain. “Cut the
{.acket would be a handful to keep cn tcreen. Mttler. |ikw>e — and quick,
her course once into the .•Vttcroidt "IVetty toco we are too clote."
“wljere it it nice and thick P The Colo- J'ut in time Ser pa r.t W'e>l had a
nrl mutt hate been winm]; to expend titioo of the CofoorT* face »il he
an orderly jutt tv pt rid of thit crank ! choked back hit reply. “Too clote now.
.At the .Atteroidt drew nrarer. the if you atk meP he_ muttered. Ilcl he
tVelor't crnduct became more and more thmppd and p«Ded the twitch. To cut
mrxpilicaUr. “Shut off the perwer and both rockrtt and pnll in the thirld ripht
drift a Ul." le tedered. cn the edp- of the .Aneroid Beh ! Not
After a Vc!j ttarr W'eu obeyeil. .After men the Colonel could hate imapnril
all — what wat the uw? Of courte. he the btk »<pairt would do that! To kate
myplst take a peke at the btle ptr ami the tbip without tteerape-way to atoid
take him lack to the ntjt Ixmte he rt- the damkkt or arroor to withttaml the
raped from, but that woukl le had newt inqact of stray t mat coe tweO way to
when he faced the ColuorL “If tome of cemmit tuicide. Gate you pdenty of
Fit order* teem unorthodox, you are ne« linw n> think oter yrw pact b'e. loo.
to commcni." the Colonel had said. Toy, In drhance of repilaticnt, John fithed
FLAREBACK
m
out 'a o^amtr. iiciitci il ami Irannl
Kaci a^aiml ihr bulkhrad. O. K-! It*»
Ihr pmf«»kv>c'» party!
IF HF. KN'KW he wa» inritinj; uxtden
death the Cact tem>ed nrx to worry him.
He wat knidri]; into U> xnall tcierivor
screen and slowly taming llie ha ndw heel
JbsI below it. There were crtsiswirts
* HIt tliose ol a paisight oo the screen.
Centered oo the inter»ect>oo of the wire*
was uoe ol the largest o( the aneroids
fiadunj; by loo dmc ior raenfort.
Had John ken able to see outside the
ship he would base noted that as the
btlle wtaeel turned under the professor's
hand, the small, rop-^iaped web of fine
— platinum wires mounted on the nose of
''the ship swuR{ so that its ajcis pointed
at ih? asterowl centered on the screen.
Dr. sun Theil touched a button un llw
l.ub of his roolrol wheel
“Froe! (iool! Ijti’s p> home. Ser*
r«f r
Wist sboolc his Ixad sso>ent!s and
due hi hsis into his eyes in an efiort
to clear the bfandinc eilert of the flash.
Tljr a»»eriad had sanished m one tremen-
dous. hlisc-whit^ -spark. The Serjeant
bail Iwen koknye^iectlr at it when it
eiplsded. Good erief! What has the
' btlle natt joc in that box of his? As
K»«i as he could see. the Serjeant
slampesj hack into his chair, cut in the
neutron shield and started Ins rockets.
Then hr stiffetsed. swore, and bejan
throw mj switdwes on the control-boatd
in an>l cut.
“Mscsr-scrten's blooey. Your little
sl»w must base burnt ti out. Doc. . I
tmf«- I can fly blind as well as I think
I can " He pulled one more switch and
tjwn sate up.
~H ytu ran fly Umd as well as >xxi
can exprrss your fertejs." Von Theil
said dryly. "I juess we jet home. They
kam to swear better since I left the
L'nirersity."
West locked quickly at the old man.
There was an tmptsh twinkle far back
under llie frosty eyebrows. Dr. ron
n«ei! eridenlly was sery pleased with,
liimsclf and with the I’niterse.
West ihoujht. “He's dumber than a
Martian monkey, or el«e he's joc mtxe
itmards than a platon of Guards .And
he don't look so dumb at that.'*
The Serjeant had not ur>derestima!r>l
the difficulties of flyir j blind from where
they were. The .-Vsteroid Ileh had to Iw
crossed to return to Earth, and — thanks
to the Doc's “unorthodox orders" —
crossed at k pUctArhere it was “nice and
thkk." With only the sijhtports to d^^.^
peid upon. West could not see nO,
aroutsd the ship, and only by the . ]
and crash of approachinj “pp b bles
could he eren jur>s what was hehrnd
or on either side of him The little ship
was yanked \iolently ofl lier course lime
after time. Sweat was fourinj i»ff
West's face and his brawny arms were
numb by the time they hnally foojbi
throujh the Beh and could straijhtm
out. Only then did the doctor speak
"My!" he ejaculated “.\ jojd ihinj.
I juess. that the Coloorl jase me such a
faij man to fly for me. Man. you must
be strooj as an elephant !~
"Hmnj'h'" John jrunted. Wasn't
that nice, now? He jot llie ship iotu a
mess, blows the sisors. and then says.
"Ooh. stronj man!" Xeser ajain with
you. runt ! You play too roujh ior me.
Stin. dam it. what did he do to 'ilut
asteroid? 'Roy. am I tired! I wonder —
secrecT or no secrecy. I're jnt to ml
anti jet some chow .
HE TURNED to Von Theil. "EVse.
I'm all in. If you'rr in no hurry, there's,
a place on Mars we ran stop and rest a
bit. fX»‘l leH the Cuiunrl I look you
there. Ihoujh. It's a secret cadie f<sc Hie
war fleet — to damn secret there isn't
rrrn a juard there, and the Ivanjar anj
Storehouse are duj out of the laQ. Can't
be seen from outssle at all. We can eat
and jet another tisor-scrren. so I can
take a clearer course home."
IM
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION
“I think TOO ry>r»J j«nf rr%t. too.” tSr
doctor a g rcrd. ”1 p3r>» joa think I’m
no^rh^ I shook] hatr pot inudr that
I>h hrfoTT I *md \t)o kxkintt fo^ prh-
Un. Thm »r dro’t ha«r so nnarh trou-
Uc Tm sorry.”
“Thanks. Doc." Wro p r ina cd.
“Yoo'rr nc< a ha'l puy after alL If
yoo*ve oner tem cot b rforr too
rooldn't hare kne/vn what it wr^ Lkr.”
Hr laixirsJ tbr ship toward Mars and nor
w altrrwanl drrjj;p«d pmth into a
small saHry near the Martian icr-cap
and ran her into what sernxd a natural
rasr. Drcaaso o< thr brekm te l rr is or.
hr had roc srm tbr loop. siVnt craft
with a stranpr crimsoci mark co her bow
whirh. rusninp withnot bphts. had
trailed them troci thr Brit to tbr hxirly
outpost station.
*wTprant West" wahrd until hr had
started a firr and had pet a p mcro u s
supply of “ix»o ratixis” oo to boiL “You
can eat ’em just so.” hr said, “but ihry
stick to sour ribs better when you make
soup of 'em. But Doc. can I aak some
qsarstions?”
Vco Theil p r ina e d . “Why not. Srr-
peant ? Maybr I can't answer so wril
as jxiu did. tbouph.”
W'rst Et a ciparrttr and carrfoDy
snapped the match between his finpers.
“I prospected for sears before I came
int«. the Patrol.” he bepan. “arsd this is
tny fifth hitch in the Srnrice. I worked
the first disinteprator-ray the Patrol ever
usesl. • last sear I saw de m o n stratioca
of the Morrell ray. At one time or an-
other I'rc seen eserythinp between. But
1 nnrer saw or heard of anythinp that
eouM hasr rubbed that asteroid out the
way snur dtspus did this afternoon.
Masbe tbe Morrell could if you pot
rnouph psTwrr. but no ship m^e could
carry a Up mouph pmeraior. How did
you sSo it?”
“Easy.” said the scitetist. “Ever hear
of Dirac?”
“The Up shet back in Washirpten ?”
“No. oese of hb ai xcstors. P. A. M.
Dirac sras a physicist lock tn tie firs*
half of the Twensirth Century. Hr pea
sjuI a hsisjthrsis that there is mfinitr
density in space of electron* in nrpaiise
trsrrpy states. As k«-.p as they stay in
nepatisr enerpy states sou can’t detect
them N'ow and then one of them pets
kicked upstairs itsto a positisr state and
then you pel an otdtnars e l ect r r c . That
leases a 'hole' in the 'infinite denstty of
electrons' — (oeJish as that may wwsd —
and that hole is what srr rail a positron.
You can't see black letters co_ black
paper. So. You can't detect nepatise-
enerpy e l ectrons in ertrythinp hreanse
eserythinp is nepatise-enerpy electrens.
I — let me see — I know what I mean but
1 don't say h.“
SERGE^^'T WESTprirmed. “You
C« wjorthinp that time. Doc.”
The b;rte Dutchman shockied.
“Ma.sbr I pet It yet. Look — what I
mean is you can't see black if eserythinp
is black. So. You can't detect nep»*>'^
ener p y e l ectrons apainst a backpround
of nepative -enerp y electrons. We take
our bbek paper for a minnte. If I put
a piece of hrxanite on it — pouf — and it
pises a-hc>. Now I can sec tsro th inp t
— the hole, because it isn't fcke the rest
of the piper and the pieces because they
aren't in the paper any more.”
“Hm-rtv-m — maybe you and hrxanite
ceuld do it to a piece of piper, but
And s»+sen I went to school, electrons
srere nepaiisc anyway. Now you say
that we can detect only the {kisitrsc
e l ect ro n v”
“No. No, electrons are nepatisc but
Lock, not positisr rlectrie I me an .
but positisr enerpy -state. You take some
water, and if it is hiph up abosc the sea
it has posithe ener py . You make it turn
a turbine. Rut if the srater is at the
Uxtnen of the ccean it has nepatisc
enerpy. Yeu must purrp it to brinp it
to the surface. Ri^4?“
-Y«. So “ West locked at the
little man doubtfully.
\
«
FLAREBACR
139
♦
“Ijif mv hrxanijc — hkr mv n:er
a M>Vlm rxpJovxK] r4 mrrjy
lull fumji -'cnir «•» lho«r Of|t^:nr-<TirTpr
ckvinaiv uj> lo potrtivr-^TXTjT
’t <v4uti: ray» d-» tha; Thm— foof. aivl
»r ha«r an fWrtruo. and a »}«Tf
tlir rWiroa «a> — «hal »r call a posi-
tron. An rirnnm-pothruo pair — alaavc
. loj^lirr jxm »<r — and a cpianttsn o(
cnerfy it u*rd up
“Thai Uttle »rrr cup ot mine juU
ftvusc^ a M>n ai ray — jn>t me knowi it
— mhkh has the property oi cmiin{
lho«c rlertron-poutroa pairs in hu{e
numbers— oh. lots ci ’hem. .■\Il"at ooce.
Sam ahrn ii hit that pebble, some o(
those electrons «ere ri(^ in the middle
- ol an atom, and some ot those positrons
«rre ri^t in the middle ol an' atom.
.And the atoms didn't hke that and the
partsrles didn't Hlce it. But the aiocns
dsdn'i hke it more, because they «ere
unstable. Wril. ot course the rock ex-
plor»-rl — pouf P
“To put* it roilJIy.'* aftred West,
“priuf. It still sounds scremy to me.
but it did ssorlt oh. oh ! We (ot com-
pany P He jumped to the irindoW and
looked at the loo{ black ship setthn{
tu the (round outsidr. and srfurled to-
«ard the passage to the han(ar. dra(-
(in( X’orj Theil mith him.
“That ship's (Ot the red death's-head
on her rxsse. EXx ! We'se (ot to jet out
of here — fast P He started running
doati the comdor. to the accompani-
ment of protesting C^sps from the
scimtia. But West was too busy to
hstrn. He was softly and steadily
swearing at hi> superior o£Bcers. “That
lo(>-earrd jackass of a Colonel ought to
have known Letter. Should base had a
oenpany ijuanrred here to guard this
Sort junk. 'SccrecyV the dope says*
The I'ranians hate sure spilled his se-
crecy now P Then aloud : “Doc. when
we get into the ship. I'm going to come
out of the hangar hke a hat out of hefl
an>J try to ram that bal>y. It's the only
chance*"
But the two nesTT rcachel the littW
Brutere. f>r as West flung open thn
ma-sise hangar dor>r a swarm »•(
Cramans ran into the nkjcth of the cate
John had time to use his pistol twice
before a force-hram from a. L'ranian's
gun hurled him hack mto the corridor
arxl crashed hsn against the stall.
AS HE' FELL stunwd. Von The.1
hastily slammed the flameproof door az>i
secured it. ran back ioto the home mak-
ing sure that all windows and doors
were sealed. Only then did he return
to the isxoosoons Ser g e a nt, and with
nasclr pufEng and blowing, managed to
drag him back into the bsing quarters
and get him onto a couch. He carefully '
examiaed the stunned man from head to
font, then breathed a long sigh of relief.
“N'othing beoke." he chuckled. “That
is hne. Just a lot of shodc from that
force-beaA Well. 1 think he better not
wake up too quick. The shock will dis-
appear quicker if be don't. Hm-m-n>^—
I guess they got a medicine cabinet here
somewhere.
A brief search dis c ore r ed the small
drug cupboard for which hr sought.
“Hm-m-m — peristol; no. that is tto
drastic. Mangarol— that is it I I snO .
let him sleep just about one hour.. By
then, I guc» ^hey will be gone. My I
This b(g IrMow' thinks he can li^
twenty L'ranians with their hfteen-titnrs-
Earth muscles' Better hr stiy here a
while." He moistened the stopper of
the flask and wared K under John's
nose. The Ser g eant stirred sbglitly. ami
his breathing became moee Dormal as he
jossed into a deep sleep._ The docTi«r
bt a long thin cigar and >at down t<s
wait
.An hour later. Sergeant West stirred,
blinked, and sat up groggily. “What
thr* " he nksnbled
Von Theil held up a warning fing er.
"Sssh*" he whispeted. “They thmk
thrs- got you and then don't know atout
me. I’mty soon tliey go."
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
' MO
“EcJ thrr nnian’t pri— «hr\H «f»Il tlif
nr« « 4 l«x;: cachr iod amUith ‘xw
ccr.vhijr. ■* \Vc< tr>n1 lo
rr»r. Id iljr fffrrt* (A ihr 4raf tn»iV
N* Irpi locVIr laxJrr hati “WIjJ hap-
to mr hr oraJ^K.
“Mr." vail the aVcttif. “I licpctl
“Vcm mhal r"
”IV)jr»I IOC. In a»r<brr hocr jt*i »r
all rijht. Un then thry’ «ill harr j,«or.
They knoa.'Vrd yoa tiOt. Id if you rotor
to tro rpnJJy. Uim yxn try to 6];hl
trunr nxxr. Foofcth! Yea can’t bek
all tho«r I’ranaaca."
West glared at him angrily Id htlp-
Irsslr.
Doprd by that little runt with ibr
safety of the Fleet depending on him!
The drty doo b le-ct ns acT "Say!
Ijorkh. Doe. -did you tip those mugs off
to this soyaje ? floi* did thry find tkii
piarr Y~
Thry fnOoved ns in." said Ven Theil
qta etly. “I saw them »py its while we
were drifting cotside t^ Bek. Then
thry trailed after its. Their pilot don't
steer so good as yoc."
".And yon let me lead 'em right to this
plare after I told yoa it was a secret?
"It ts an right." soothed the scientist.
“They don't gire a damn aboot this
place. They don't lox^' it is a stoee^
hrxr>e. I tl^Jc — jest a hangar. They
saw me Uim that pebble and came to
get iny- gadget. They ’got it now. and I
think they nnzst hare it installed on their
ship by DOW and — yes. there they go!"
• •
.AS THE long black ship swooped op
into the sky. be opened a window and
yoicted. "See. they got my cup on their
nose. They must be pretty grod me-
chanics to hgere m so rpzick "
The Ser g e a nt tottered across the
room, and wineg the little man by the
shonUers began to shake him. ~Ycid
ass!" he almost shrieked. "You sloped
me and let them get th^ dismtegrator
cT yours and yod stand there grinning!
You little I use. sou’rr a •>f•s !«< t’w
Uranians' < >h. it I tan t turn y«u t>ser
lo the t'a.lciesrl. m take snu a{arl niy-t
selfr
"lia»T. easy!" V«*j Tbeil gasfesL
"Sure, lake me to the ColtorL I'd hke
that a lot. Unt DOW. let me down. You
are t«« rough."*
“in get you tlere all right, you htlle
CTtiok : Thcugli I suppose they're
wrecketl the ship."
“Xo. they don't wx>te lime co your
Utile ship." the docine answered. “Ikliy ?
They got my ray. so they jtt« install it
in their ship and they are going to tnm
it on ns down here. Then, they think,
youf' tike the asteroid."
John waaTs^n wreak and dirry and
his outhurj^ h^ left Fin*. cUsgieg to the
wintJow-le^pe-' for support. “.And rou
thmk a's funny, kuhr"
“Yon bet h is funny." agreed Von
TheiL "See. ifiey got the cup trained
bn ns now. Look and *ee wxnr ftm."
"You're not a spy. you're just nuts!
Fun to be rubbed out hke jumping
Jetpers. what happened?" for rurrotmd-
ing the nose of the L'raniais ship there
flared a huge bhx-white spark. With
her forward third di sin tegr a ted, the
gaping hull lurched forward, then was
caught and crushed as with a thunder i ng
roar the shattered air crashed togctbier
and their wrarship clattered lo tfie ground
in fragments.
Dr. son Theil threw bvk his head
ant] again crowed with baugliter. "Ho.,
Iw. ho!" he roared. "I thought they
would !e dumb. They saw my ray
work, butjhey couldn'l explain it any
more than you! They were still in the
atmosphtre when they shoot, with
matter all around. \k>.y do you think
I made you cut the neutroei verrm
before I explode that pebble, eh:"
With ttund eyes in which com-
prehension skmlr dawned. West stareil
at the little runt. “Well, fry my hwlrr*
he finally eyamlatrd. “Of course ! Yceir
ray works when it hits nutter, and k
FLAREBACK
141
wnuVi Kate rr[Mailcd the <iaieU aad u«
hefote.h rracheit the rcici;. And — it
e&iiluiir<J the air ahead oi the Uranian^
inktrad id ronsn;' down here. Yoa
wanted nothing but cmfKjr space betmeen
jnti and the target T
“Yoo it. boy! Xo«r yna xe why
I thinL it fanny they sbo^ shoot at
ta. eh?“
“And I thought jna were a dtsnh
crook! Ihtf. D«c. why did yoa make
cne cut out the rocketa. too? It scared
lie liaslighis out of me to do k.”
“I don't know how hard the explosion
win Lick.** replied the doctor, “so I
think hetler the ship is free and loose if
thg gets poshed by it, see?^
“I see. Doc. you're a great little guy
wkli more nerre than anybody I erer
saw. I apnlogiie. Now let's get to the
ship anil go Iwme."
“NoP answered the little man. “Voo
haren't got that rest yet. You need a
nighi's sleep. Besides. I haren't used
any of my baggage."
“Yopr haggage* Oh. that briefcase?
Why. what's that got to do with the
price of beaiu?"
“Yoo need a rest and I am tired mys
seH. 1 am not used to all this hopping
arooniiL Yoo sk dorm and I get my
baggage.“ He carefnOy set the plump
briefeaje on the table and opened k.
“Brandy." he said, setting one bottle
on the table. “W’hisky — good Scotch,
th^is. Kirschrrasser. That b my bag*
gage. I never carry foofishoess when I
travel"
John heaved a long sigh and settled
into a chair. “Doc." he said, ^you are
the Lerries. Xeja lime >xm want a pilM.
in cocnr mnzung. Here's howP
Yoa'll Like Doc Saoage
A ~ua a m o m men. wliotr keen scics-
li&c Wain is the taarrcl of the agt. Doc '
Saragt — with hit hand of five corspaaioas
- me ets the chaUesge of the world's
■ustrr crooks, or goes to the reeewe of '
people throatewed hj calanuty. Battl^
crifoc rrith the greatest arrap of scitstific
aides that the world has ever sees. Doc
Savage resewet the oppressed, brings
forth new discoveries to add to present
devices.
In a hook-length novel in cverp iseot
of Doc Sev^e Magasino pon can read
of his ' thrilling, exciting adventnrex.
Proas start to finish pan rrtll find action
■psttrp and snspense aa pon've never .
fannd it hefore. And there dre pfentp
nf other shorter fcatnrte to add la poor
interest— so he ssrc to ask foe Doc Sav.
age Magasinc the nest time pen stop at
poor news stand I It's onlp TEN centa—
and worth nsoch caorel
hh
Devil On The Moon'’
la the Mtrcb issue oi
Every Moatb — Tea Ceau
a »
EYE, of the PAST
by
. Eahdo Binder
D
^ la tbr world euuide. the red shi^ of
the I or Oder destrojed ^ehriliutioa — bere
(goms’ia^water, reveoled forgottea t^iagi
* O ® •
/'“X NE- «<|wVJ ibnoM mtlit FfJe
I I with Icrnc > (Uabotxal rr-
vKnirtj ihe events of thu b&li-
CTTjturr 'jrrm . itJO to 1<)90 i<wato
l‘V^h*4 vm iSr mo^ catUCTT^.k »-»r-
fotr knoKTv to, the la»*ory of Euih A
war of sorarc.
NamrintlT powrrfol weapon* had
bmt drwtiopcrl with whxli ditided man-
' . kind had acovrCed iticff. For t went y
yean the frifhtfnl ftamn ai>d des»b-
tKCu spawned by a greoi scsenoe had
drasated popclatioos. deazroyed otac*.
and rarished ercry c ommaat y of it*
best and dearek Blood soaked the
world fretn end to cad
The frrer" of hatred burned all man-
kind by eihacsted. betrayed by its *ci>
eoee. The tne n abte resok bad been
peace wubocz victory far both farrima
t 144
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
CniHcalica iu mound* iXltr
. 19)60. and rrbosh itifii paAfcBr.'
Thro had cotoe a complete rerulMcem
c4 {rchof. ^Tf>e doct rin e* -of p«ci&tm
_*m et< orer the mofVl mith aUmcnt the
^jfc cJeoce mv had. Deter min e d that soch
te^semrir** holocaau should never acain
ccrcr. mar had been declared omtbv.
aad aude ocsiam’. The. mocid had div
> anried. (oenpleteK and akpMt ren^e-
-fn^. An imemaiional FViSst Coc-
^rea*. full pomer. detruded Earth
<A nory ^m-arhme mitratoM. An() of
• even the plan* and formulae. ^
’ <w The procea* mrl* *o thoigut^h that br a
• 1900 the cmmtruetJoo of a ^iatle' eaa-^
non of asx *>^ 'mould have ret pil te d a
.complete nem *et of blue prims. Liclced
. imp a federation of amicabie nayoer^ of
' "eTery ocjy and .creed, the mocid looked
hack \spaa the fol^ of mar and rejoiced
that it had-teen er jed. ~ •
Tkrm.' is. /90.', cemt tkt ditn mto-
. ■ V
■ • XluarnKd. helplest. uo ft-ocected. Earth
. lay open'to the interplanetary raiders
-mho catne m^iAout m^naaf. Set a pan
to bit a;ain<t them. ^'oC.the smaOesr
veapoo mrth **htcfa _ to oppote. . No
■ aimed airship to soar at cx r einy ’t
throat. • Xo 'armored battleship to de-
fend imponant coosal cnics. Xo sin-
gle body of trained, armed'trocps to re-
sist attack.
Ceseac irocy ! _ * •
AQ thro u gh the month .of Mxy^ 19^.
definite repr-is mere .received in cn-
poetam nemr* centers that m y Ster ku^ red
ships had been srgktetl- alt orer the
morid. It mas not cnlr.a puttie as to
* mrhojo ship* ;|rey »ere. bm homr they
flemr. Wingless aad silem. ihrir torpedo
' shapes • sirangeir defied grasitatioa.
- 'Ssach sliips h^ rreier before leen seen
Co Earth.
Durir.i: May they had dcoe ncehing
more than hoser oxer xarious cities fdr
a fern masuies. hasgitrg neiotrless as no
Dermal airship should. When air patrol,
pober had approached, they had
streaked amar at an amating velocity,
gterraRr nsiag to the stratosphere. The
Queh-dishunrif scarlet ships mere ssane-
timrs sighted by the passenger* of strato-
hnrrs. crossing the ocean. . • ‘
Gradually a tension grem: oser. Earth.
Td each city.aoJ tiation it locked fike
nothing more than some rnemr taking
obserrations. Vet sra^ sras octhmed. •
Peace and praoctui relations had spread -
over the srocld hke a blaxtket. \Vhat • '
did it mean? .- *■ ■ ' ■ ' *-
When a doten e>f the red ships ap- *'
peafed over Paris in late* kfay and mrth-*
* out srtrrir.g raced tfsat city to the ground '
"mith a mssjerious rayin a *hoet»ihree .
days, the m-orld'mept." The l^bble of*
peace had been destroyed. * There Atdd ^
be «rar again. But aifiat *com-ardJy. cril .
* nation had door this atrocity
•The nation across the. Rhi^ ber a ire
the foealspomt Buri^ Jtatrrds darned
anesr. A harsh message of tnqmry ment
from natioo'to nation. EVnial stdy in-
creased suspirioa. Germany had about
been branded mith' the dee^mhen
• Berlin scat b ur ne d imo the rtound^
And London, ifoscow. Rome, viemta. '
Stockholm. Madrid. Cdnstaminopte and
Warsam- — all in a short mamh!
Then, obriously OtmUoidpaed "by
Elfrih's utter lack defence, the enemy
ships s^ infd three factions mlach at-
tacked Europe. Asi» and .\mrrica sitn-
uka n ep u sly..
^ .\^«st at the fright furmenace that
had soddmlr a;)^artd t?^ rsomhere.
the s«>rld*!ar’ stunned. But' ^ for
* long. There mere no meapnns mith
. sshich to fig!n bock, but Earth mnuM *
reann. Steel mills legan turning out
gun larrrls. Xitrat>- {kims changed
from feTtihrers to explosirrs. The lest
engitseers started designing sreapons of
esery grade and site.
With a miQ. all iK9 morid fell to the
task. Esery one did hi; or her part in
the great project. Every one. that is,
cacepe young Pitt'essoc Hatsry Car-
michael —
I *
I
\
BYE. OF THE PAST '
. SKrffTINli {fii-n.'tSf poWrr-_
hi] car icAr>«n] a rcara>la(n rt^ tc)^rt]
thr .roa>t. Ycor.|; l*rofrsV)c Har»ry’
Cannxharl h>I jirrt.c>fa|<t] <r«n Boi-,
ICO. ubejr c&cui\ rA the Ifrtrrnaiiocal
’ I^njoe— Kanb'i rulirj l^-idjr — had coq-
tcriptrd for their cannon factory.
tetter \^3e* tuuched hit bpt at ^
^ronc thro^jh the ni jht. Hr teat think*
ms oi the scene tocnr hotfrt rarber
,«hra hM func^. Tanta Maxwell, had
tranjerf i him af an esociuniac. anarchitt.
vsd tereral other tkinst. and thrown hit
rins'acTott the room. He had tried to
explain, tut the not prra hint a
chance to hnith. tie thrutsc'f* ^
Utter tjnitr did not kate hit gr im Ept.
A half hoar taler a stove of trees
kxxnrd out of the darknett. Hif head-
• krhit ^hnmrtj a ramthns oU house
ansens thrrsL and the waters of the .\t-
tantic just b^ood. Hit summer retreat,
r^^matf}- for racaiiooins. to with ha
fifty irrt completeiy oetfitted atV labo*
raioey. * H.*had done toast of hit lest
work here, u, itsotested.
|t was the Val *place nowr for hit
further work. The IL asentt would
oner trace him here. Onlr Tanya Max-
well knew of ht keation. And at that
ihocsf^ * worried frown created his
forehead at he put the car array, and
carried 1st two suheates imide the
house. Would Tanya, in a irristakm
norion of patriotic duty, betray hhn ? He
would have to be prepared for h.
Dust tar over evervthins at be made
hit wav to a bedroom and unpacked hit
clothias from me AchcAse. He drbatcdT*
whether to phone the ixar-by ^iOasc
foe hit usual Kesro houseboy,. to de-
cided asainst h. It would be best for •
him to be alone in this.
' ^ In a few- itsore nrhmtrt he was down
hr the basement whh the second strp-
Tf5r -lights revealcvl a larse wisrktablr
in the emte^ thehet at the sides loaded
whh paraphrtnalia and supplies. At the
back, dynamo, transformer and sereral
larse vacuum iSbrs detished to prodrx'e
AST— 10
seseral Varirwiet of subatccrBC-artillcry.
• A lars< ccwirptne trlcvit*m<outbr. whh
/a* five-foot serem." ocefipird the space
opposite the title. *• , •
•Whh re v e r rwt care, ^arn'ichacl ors-
packej the apparatus' he trad ^brousht ,
afons freea tbe dl.v.' He let .out hn
^beeaih in a dn-|> sish whrn hr*vaw that
.nothins had tmi damased. He td h
t on the worktable and damped h ns>dly .
to a stand.
To the r»ua] eve h nas a hybrid
creation. But tMb trahsed scientific rjg
would ceraer first on the overhans***
Crooke't tube, trace the. cathode rads^
tion to a cttphike tarset of platirtum.* note'
the adyacerst rlecirdm^s’^ belowr,
the crystal resonator. • "The . 'scieraist
' would insnodiatrly.knour it v^s tnrant •
to explore atomic '^phersomma. ' He .
micht even suspect h . was dehcate
etsou]^ to probe into sufaatomk depths.
But he would never what h was'
really meant to do— wrest' from the atom
one of ht mo« treasured tecrett.
But Carmichael haef* not quhe soc-
ceeded yei. He knew- by theory exactly
what be was looidny for. and knew he ■
was dose. There vrat one chance in a-
hundrrd. or a'thoftsand ^
' -ar • %
WITH-THE .\TT.\CK of Aifier^ *
the world saw-^)» doom at hjndf like the •
kandwThsni' orr the »-aIL Under the
Intematiocia] Leay^. aD Earth had
unhed in the to . save itseli Its
main hope lay whh the scientists aixl
th^ prodiefoat efforts to rearm a wwrld •
' that had not manufactured a (un in the
fast Krneration.
It was a bitter, iromcal t^ou]^ that '
if the enemy had attacked a half century
before, when the world had been a (reat
armed camp, the outcome Mould not
have been to qtx^tioaabfe. The red
enemy* ihips over any chy at that time
would have tooched off a furious bclch-
inj of pow erful Kuns^ Guns whose
trained crews couldOick off invisible
specks in the stratosphere. Grtat fleelt
o
t
14 «
ASTO\jNDiNG SCIENCE-FICTION
fltf m»i»-na<V . cifJri ihfw
«hkf> «nuVl lair ihr memr,
nul of jhr (Vam m»pa «ho*«
rxpiv^detl in the air. ripping aay-
V :iti mhhki a mile lo ^red>. c^xlop^
at defence a]:ain>t acml aiiaclc.' ‘
. And. then there had tren the tnys-
. lerkiut Vordajr'fan. Iie2>e\ed to. ha\«
' utitixed atomic po« er. . Ih imentor.
.Henri Vorilaj. prr&api ^he'freatett
irmhii of the a^e. had Unh arlv oae and
' tct It i4> in the heart olihc citT he Kred •
in • Theotijh' tniemr jncara of aw. that
citr hai remained untouched For*
'■henefer enemy craft had appearcal. a
Ynjhtful. raterpet. force from the V<Jr-
dav.icun had divuRecratrd ihm |o jm-
falpablc du>(* ’ *• ’ '
With a_ «i»do(n hit erraut.
Henri Vorday Iiad not. dutributed the*
■ pUn« foe hit seperveapon* no( pen to.
, hh couujrTTaen.’ «In the p<»:-»ar <»e
• tif pacT^fm. ^ lead wrecked the f^ja aiad
an plan* . Hc^tiad cocnc. to an .
untimely dwh a -fe* Veehi !atCT,‘»ith'
a doeen othrri. in a.nsdocran (all'of a
. itrato-bner. ' .
I Vticulatly^ woold .the Vorda.tTifun .
,ha\e,heen^a godit»i now — fire a|^nu
’ firef For it wai plain that the enony
had atcetEc^enerp^ TTipir ahi^t >er.t
dodn tliehomfi^ xidlet he^^hoof after
*hdur yiitho^ letup.* Only the cljeaft.
enjli^ oicr^jp of a'^troc matter itself
tAilI^ |i«y ioch atea^- ppwer.
Hat i arth had rseit hi n g . whether Vor-
Of even hand-pistol
."Tn entire new amament had to Iw dc-
wened and put into aetyVt w desperate
la<e — untried, unproien. When the
first crop of new weaptn* appeared in
l ottipe. they prove'lalmojt usele» Ma-
chine puts, mounted on fast cotnme rcial
airrraft. jammed ropelectly aftri’ the 6r»t
lurtt of hre. \ntiairetaft pri> burst
after the first few «ho(t. narming and
kilbnj their crews Carmnn Iwkhed out
one shell — and renamed silent, with
ipbt ^breeches
Karth dsj ikJt know l»w to tnanu-
k '• - • . 4
factarr .weapiocss!' But Farth lU not
cisx up. ,Iiach or.Kake was pounced' ^
upei. eorrecied. Knpaeets'and teefi-" .
nicant arrBmubted exjeTienee. TTie^.
worUa ' 'vx>t h»du<trial orj^aniratKxi
ipound out. osemifht. cropi of. wrap-., ^
DOS. each . superior io the ‘last. Mm
were rapidly trained in’therr use and
■ rushed to str^ffie cities ' A fiopeless
etuation thpwfd iaira peomiae'of hei-
terme nt ; Soon come a deciuse
• Mrucffe between 'Fartk'a new amament
* and the demoniac ^»ers of th> alims
from space;
I%the meantun|. the enemy c&d^pued .
Its, slaughter. *\\ ith derihsh thorou^- '
'n^ the) carried on their apparetu aim
d(cinair all Farth. • Th^made* m •
. atte mp t to coepnsad^^ wnh nankind
ooe*krcw where llyir ships eame
^frora. oe where jber haa^tav. With t
dailyv raddmin{ reptlanty im ^ient.
cpsKson ships appea r ed frser lar je cities .*
all oser'the wtvid and burtteif theA lo
(hr pound wirb their llomic flames. * In*
a mcmh the tpQ had reached tms of ^
milhocts . of bvei. « an' incalculable
anyiunt of property. \ '
. M^y of the rhies last destroyed had
bejp panialh evaeraitd.' Most other
larp ^ies not yet attacked woujd be
•esacuated abnost ernirelj. Crews of ’
factory workers. ;umm{ out munitions.
«eie tek^Jy at a n Acne nl 's notice to lease.
Guns were vet up. waiting for the enem y
to strike
Earth prepared for a decisive last
HAGGXRD from three days of un-
remitting tod. young I’rofessor llarsry
Carmschael curxd for the need of an
asM<tanr as he attempted to attune iwsa
re»ocalors wtaSe watchiog five meters
register fleetmg dissonances that he
tinist «er>l out. Hr fiimg himself a«ay
ntrsouJy. , He looked at his iremMiog
hands and rrab/ed the news he had
heard ose^ die radio an hour before had
umicrsed bun. The news tint Bostoa
S
o
EYE OP THE PA^ , ' ' 147
« •
•>
9 % *
ha<5 in^krd Hr thr alms. you in >x3ur srorft. I m your norjomf.
Bo^oo. the city he had always Bred It's a tlrancc. distorted ssewpoin: — id-
in and in which hb parents had Bred • ence 'above humanity — but I think I see
before their death. For the first time it. Do you «ant me to stay ■■
tlie-fcll meltunj d what a city's de- ^ stared. bceaihJrssly. at this man
strurtioci meant to those Brinf in it whore mnetymst thouefats she had neser
struck him. He went out on the back {athocdhl He nodded and two souls
s/epr and saw a horrible red {low on were at peace with one another,
the hoeirou — the flames that were cat* Inside, with his head on her lap. she
ini' the chy. It seeme d a flame eating lan^hed a httie hystericany. "How
into his vitals. He cursed the ahens — strange it will be." she said. "Out there
curved
And Tanya! Suffuse she w^ on-
• , a
whole world battlinf an alien men*
Here — you and I, coins oa with ‘
r
aUr/e escape? *Soppose the ahens de-
stroyed her, too? Sbt, and his work,
had been the only thincs be loved.
Would she die coodemninc- him tMllb
last as a resecade to his own 'race ?
DuDy be noticed a car luruinc into
the driveway. A white fifurc stepped
out and ran to hini. ,
"Tanya r be whispered unbriicvincly.
Livid tenor shone in her eyes. *T^
lurutnc oi Boston — Harvey — it's hor-
rible !" Her voice shook uncontrollably
as she described vrhai she had seen, until
at last she had talked the lerrtw out ol
her systhm.
, She hesitated. tHni went m in a small
voice. "^larTey, I've cosne bexe to beijr
scient^ viork that may never "
She cascht herself. "Harrey, just
what u yout work? You've told roe so
little of it."
/ With ah effort he sp<^. “There is
one chance in a hundr^. or a thou-
sand " His voice trailed avray.
Tanya waited for him to c<> ^
•when she looked down, his eyes were
closed. He Aad not slept, or eaten, for
three days.
"My theory." explained CarmichaeL
the next day, "is that vibrations in the
ether expand bcch outvrard sad twaurd
from the point or propacatioo
^ "Yes. I remember you sayisc that be- _
fore." Tanya locked *rt3i at the queer
ASTOdMDING SCIENCE-FICTIOK
t
* afifvu^at. wuhoot Ln>«-inc in the least
«as mun( lo do ~.\od thit
sour work ior l«o*>ears has br«n in
that field Bm ran vtMj explain it more
fully r
"OasMcal theory hejan Carmichael,
"states that from tlie («int of ptopa-
CataoQ. k uniionnlr ^osin^sphrte of
vase-enercy starts askl expands into the
sidereal eosaiov Trasetme at the speed
of h{hl..the sphere includes the solar
system in a few hourk In (otir ynrs.
its outer surface has included Proxima
Centauri. the nearest star. .\n a(e later,
the sphere is a Irrtnendous ilitnf that
has encclfed all the Milky Way Galaxy
and is buljin; out toward the island
uoirersev" _
®he jirl nodded far it‘s clear.”
"But that i< only lialf the picture.”
pursued the yomg soenttst. the words
tisnbhnc out eaferly. ^Classical «d>
mce fads to taLe account « the iraord
propa^atioo oi rlrctromaipsrtic «ases-7>
itilo the n ncrocosiMos 1 Witlw the atom
are lo be (012nd the identical sets of sri>
bratsneh that fid the cuter onirerse.
Here a curious thin{ resnhx Relatirity
indicates that the 'lime system of the
micTocosmos is as djdrrmt from ours as
ks dimensions. The contractinf sphere'
tales Is lone to reach the absuiute *tero
of dinamsioo. aT the exfutsdine* sphere
in the macrncosa»l takes 10 ptumtMin-
”1 lhink''^foIknr ^'U-'" said Tansa
iK-skanllr. list's to be done
wkh it.”
“Plenty.” assured Carjrschael. “k'i-
sionaries hate often i^urrd to^ketine
out mto space at ereater llian the spbed
of Keht — if such a thin; were poiuble —
an] ratdiine try wnh hj^ht rays llisl
left Karth centurses. or a;e* a;s They
wouM obsent the usual r«ord of
Farth's liistoey a: first hand. 'But* we
eannee go fassrr.lli^ hrin Yet what
abxn the same cthe^ rKoeds that exist
wrkhin the atom ? TTtry trt ctmiaMr.'”
The >run( soentist's toice tecaine a
sharp “htss. “Within xh« atoms of all
lhe..mstler around us Cr the records of
% the |Asi. in the form of ether ribralioos.
c> •
An kut nim cn i lliat can reach dowm
writhia the atom and translate those vi-
bratioru into risibie hehl wares sroufl
nUke the past an open bnnlc. In plain
words — lelestsioo of tlw past!”
T.\X Y.\. womanlike, tried lo hide the
deep admiiatinn in her ryes as she looked
at the j;tan she losed.<3 She made \xr
ruice casual ”.knd'you hate don* that.
Planer? . Drlinl into the past ?”
“In a measure. jes,“ be replied, war-
ing a hand toward the hybrid apparatus
on the wotktabie. “There's the micro*
oscillator — i call it my subatomic eye —
cormeard with a lelesisiockorTait. Res*
orunce is the key lo k. as k is to all
tdrsisinn mechanism. This apparatus
is. made lo explore deep within the atom.
Its rrsonatrvr can atxuae ksdi lo the
miniaiure spheres ot radiatioa that
started at the 'atom's surface years —
rren ages — ago. assd are still ptumbin;
the kifioitr smaUness.”
“But the atoms danceP exelaanrd
Tanya suddenly. “How can you tune
lo anitliio; inssde a dancin;. whirling
.atom*”
Carmichael smiled a fait patronirin|^y.
.“I don’t just prrsbe within a stnj^ atom.
Ixit into milhonv By the law of-wrer-
a;es alone, in the hordes of countless
atoms, milbons are abkr. Iiook. Iiere
is a ;lass of sea*w'areT. richt from the
.'\ltanlic- In k are so many atoms that
the number is meaningless. Ifthis^tass*
ful were poured Lock into the ocean, ki.
a fewr years erery classful of water in
llie worVI wouki contain tmlbotts of
these particular atoms P
He poured wme of the water from
the class into the urert cup of p fa tiiwan .
“When I focus yny tuned* radiatioa
into the tarert cup to any certain layer
of atoms.' at Irxu one atom of the same
catecory is there all the time That is
the pritKiple of stanstics. the same sys*
tern* of mass action by which insurance
companies assure thmiselies of an e^ui*
bbriuri a.moc grrax mmLers.”
He frowned then. “Still, k isn't as
easy as all that. I nred''%Tea:er selec*
tivky. Each lime I inose my timed
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KIDNEYS
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JTJ ST DO t flIS
C« t* Mar arng t t«4«7 ftW t«t tUi bK
Ib <M 4 IMftI BftftHm OJ CftWhte fta4 «*rt
•I aMft ta kiteTft K vME* mftcur •»:»
Aoes
Thu'a tka *«7 >• ktMf akaal ktMbkr k^iarr
aconcy aa4 «a» tkat kZa4W ImatM* ate*
aliaa aaaaatatasty faaMca »«U Hkartac aaa
barMC aa MO aa nacks BTksa.
Bft»»B>ar. tka kiteya a<M afta< >ai * ac
M aaa M tka kaMta. *a4 mmmm
Mhty miHmi »«: CactBC »• aa«a ar_t«a
j BB ttka aakt p Krft y enn aaialy
karkacka aW^ MiMaaM. Ite W a«a
OOU> “gnftt- g^iflftM OJ Caaaaha— <ka
MSk.
Plaaaa oaauaa tku aacutac
.THAT DAY, in F.arof*. the first
klira ftfcip vkt shot down hr (he near
li^nh amonvii:. It «iks kn oocuaetg
for »ild rcjoicine kD tner the «orU.
,\t Ust it hkd been pru\en that l>ie
etititiy ujt invulnerklJe. If
ship could be shot (Limn, so cnuVJ the'^
MhfTs. tin not ooe m-xs left of the hkJed
outlkoders. That mas the mord of hope
that reseiberatfd oier tlie ftesiesed
j n
The-next day tmo mtsre scarlet crafT
fell prey, ooe in .Asia and one m .Ansrr-
k'a. The big guns from Chicago's fotin-
d«>e». in the Utter ea«e. had txit poured
net a raniotn in shells for nothing Tlie
crippled ship oser that city had fluttered
domrimard hke a mcxjnded bird liager
eses matched it approach. Lager fin-
ger- clenched and unclersched. Wlien
tlie ship Unded. tirtcai madmen mieiVl
batter in the malls atvl drag out ii«
ahens, T*ae them to shreds. I'erbijM
torture them. Ragged, gnm «ntiJcs ap-
peared on faces ilot had not smiled f<ir
meeks.
TIul the ship neser laniied. It Im-neil
to atomic dust in mid-air. tskler the
defiberate bea.ni of one of rts omn sis-
ter ships. It mas obsious that the aliens
l-al perarranged that oestr trust tlxy.
or their shis's secrets, fall into min-
liriirs hands. The other«tvo disaliled
^•jis lia<] simiUrly been Ifatted out of
r\i-tmce b> their fdkxm -hips.
Thus Earth still had no idea srhn the
afxns mere, or mhji they looker] like,
'nor mj-at ran their ships and (Omcred
tlicir meapons. The secret hopes of
scientist. — that they mighl solse the
Utter seCTtl from a captured ship— mere
slaitereiL •
The enemy tn^ie no changes in hi
plans mith this first, effeciise resistance.
It continuetj its inexorable program of
demobtioo. In the next meek .Vem-
Vork. UtiUnVIphia and Pht»borgh
irxned the fisre of c^ies tn^Atnerica.
Pour more enemy ships mere shot clomn.
It mas an exchange of casualties quite
one-sided, but ga\e some lope that, tlie
aliens mould run out of ships before
{-iarth ran out of cities.
It mas not a prrtis thing to kaJe for-
mkea aaswerieg adrcriiMacata
,UNTtL TOO THY TMI»
Jirfai TrMtsMt tur T3»
JTIm paivfaL itadac,
llwJiBK, pr»tra^isx aad
4iK*afarti«c •jtBftn tm mt
bOm aax M« b« tTMl«< a*
haar. prfrauty a»d eavr*;
Ba«stlr> Tiawiia^a ara
aatbsssaatie ata wt tkia
AMAxiac Casbiaatioa
TraaSneat: r«ad Ua
atatasaat Wav:
*Iha4Uat^l^ .*
^retni4ia< pUaa far *
orar^vaatT'aavaa
Xaart; aad at laat I rat
aa ba4 I xa^ kartiv
walk, aad tkoockt 1
Crma4 Bapi4ik Xiek. .
OU or Taar^ararr aafftrcr freca aar fona
af acata or ckroaie. itckiac, bWr«1trr or pra-
•.tnidiar P<laa mtj aaw kara a c rB tr a aj lapplj
af tkia goad troatawat a b »« lat «ly fr*a far tha
raakiag. Daat d«!ap; doa't tsSrr arrfruij.
Fill oat aad aaail tliis coapoo right NOWI
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EYE OF .THE PAST
• • • . .
«as frcBi jotne ricid.part (he ship
it><h' — posvbljr the tma — ship had
prefcaUj foui|irred ta (be s;dnn that
ladwil in (hr teleierem. Far ^oly in
that wa^ cocSd lUe atom ri ibe nmt'
that ha«] rrconietl ti.eo<me he cociaiaed
in d*c ocraa-aaier^ *
Ivia's e>e» acarv and drooped.
But Hjdde^p they flew open. The
tefne «ai <A 'a hni ge ^rato-tmer oter-
head that &HrtTd suddenly. "Harreyr
^ (asped. He yerked His ‘head up.
Iravtni; the cocurob set. Teecther they
matched (he scene fnlhll itself. The
ICreat ship flettered domn like a mounded
ITun. stsoice pouring Croat its enstnes.
A mcete n t later h had been smaDomed
cp by the sea.
".^I last’" exclaimed Camachael ex*
cttedly. ~Eriden(ly that mas the scene
reeoeded by an atoas-froup oa the sur*
face of the ocean itseli. That (ises
me the exact time of the occnrrence —
that is. the rscact series of spht secoods
mfasch make up the total faO. Norn-,
frooi that, i can set my time factor and
explore din'texst aioct-froops for
clo«*ops.“
“Hanrr, I’m tired." said Tanya. “I
cw hardly keep my eyes open."
Get scene rest then." said Carmichael
mith somethisc of bis old tenderness.
"But there may be days »f this. Tanya!
I nay hare to fo through a hundred,
or a ihousatsd atom-groups." ^
Tanya men to bed. oppressed by the
futility of this experiment that ifould
hare meant so much before the insasien
<i the a&ens. She could not understand
Carnncharl and' his cold, scientihe abil-
ity to coacinae his mork mith a doom
haitj^C hts head that mould can-
cel ha results. ,
,In the outer morld. chaos rci(Tsed.
fjif Karth's nas}; na(CKihcrat*cities. none
miained mith stone left oa stone. Still
the red slspf methodically kept up their
mtek of demnlitioa. gfinf domn the scale
t.f cities accorthcc to site.
Earth's tesistance {raduaHy marsed.
mith* the more and mote cooplete dis-
rupt x» of mdustral cisilitaxioo. The
irv doten ^ed shipt broccht dosm
seemed to hare made no effect oa their
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154
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Prostate S^erers
Sr ~
■sriAia* TM4L •rrck. ami
total numbers. At the . International
League headquarters in SaitrerUixl. the
leaders ta!krd ol new (uns. but with
hope l ess lool:s in their ejes, F.arth had
bera caught imairsres- The result lia<l
been inrirtabie frottsUse first.
Secret discassknVjrtre held as to how
best to contaa the enemr and surrender
— if they would accept sarrender. Per-
haps thdr sole aim w-as to destroy man-
kind to the last one!
Fi{htinc back automaticaSr ay, best
it could. Earth waited for its doorn^
In Carmichael's laboratory, she silent
telescreen s.Sowed the interior of the
iO-faied strato-ship. at odd angles that
chanced often. The passenjers were
shtinc quietly, some readme, some star-
ing out of the windows. Suddenly there
was a jerk. TTse passenjers spranc up
in alarm, looked around wildly. Smoke
drifted past the windows The cabin
d-pped. ^assencers fell, their facn <lis-
torted in panic. Finally a a<enchinc
of the wh^ scene — and then a cree n
murkiness dogdinc esersthinc.
\i thouch h were a motion picture.
Carmichael re-ran the scerse three times
Then he straichtened up. “That's what
I waa^ liis loice held triumph, but
Ichmd that somethinc else — thankful-
ness.
TkNY\'S nersTS exploded. “But.
Marses, it means nothirc'” she hal^
»*uxkH. "Here we're slaredi#^
nseith to prose that sour qjarhiM can
peck out esents in the past — and there
i» no future? The radio report this
morning stated that the IL has been
trsm]; foe three davs to ruabiidi radio
n<nnsinicaiM<i with the aliens without
stxces.s. They want to surrerxirr and
stop the terrinc slaughter, but “
“They mu*t not do that?- cried Car-
michael. “Must not surrender. Tlot
would mean slasery for ntankind'"
“.\nd what aJtematise is there. !<■-
sjeles unisersal extinrtioci ?”
Me jrabbed the cirl mnd thook her.
“Listen. CTanya! That ship we saw
fan was Ikf sktf in trkiik Henri I'or-
ity met kis deisk. Henri Vorday was
the freate-t scientific {emus in history.
PlcM« ■ewtiow tku iwi 4 *ti»« whea aaswxriac adTtmseacau
ISS
EYE of’ THE PAST
H« dbrorrrtd aiociic power; med it.
But tkt uertt ditd mrCk Aw.**
Tanya . tetued soddcidyr. “Harrey,
jt»t what are yxo varehinc for. there in
the pajt
"Can't rco coeas now 'f be said.
"The VtTday-pin. The weapon of
Henri Voedajr! He died in the At-
lantic. Tboie countless atoms of his
body are dissolred — seme are here in
my machine. mUhons of them. Of those
— irnlboci a^ain — some mest hare car-
ried to their interiors the bjht-reeoed of
that past time of his laboratory, his
papers, his lortnulxr
Tanjta {asped at the aheer aadac^
of it.
"I didn't »ant to tell you before."
Carmicharl continoed. -^It seemed too
utterly fantastjeto credit myselL It
was one chancf in a hundred— or a
thousand — but we’re close now! We
can trace the record bode from the stralo-
ship crash. I bare the atom-croup now
that I oeet It most be part of Henri
Vorday himseH. for none of the ocher
passencers pKt-tred resembled hisn. Do
you see? I thirJe. in fact, that it's an
atom-croup from a rinc on one of his
fincers. judcisc from the ancles of the
scenes sre saw. If so. aQ the better, for
we can then carry the record back twenty
years if we hare to— if he srore the rinc
all that lime. There are many 'i£s'
yet "
Cartmchael acain packed up the scene
in the sxrato-skxp just before its crash.
Now skilled in the operation of the sub-
atomic eye. he rerersed the direction of
its tuned beam. With the <]ueer whim-
sicality of a tnocson picture run in re-
Terse. the scene retreated in time. To
sate time, be sped up the rate of pene-
tration of his beam, till the mosements
within the scene were almost a bhir.
The strato-hner flew backward to
Europe, landed at the airport tail first,
and the passencers out rtabwise.
Two kes pumped hke oistons. climbed
into a car. tThe car rrireated to a rail-
road and the train wound back-
ward into the hills of soutbem France.
Henri Vorday was home, before be had
started on his ni-fated trip.
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aa4 ■ a» a**** ra?i»at» aacMartarf. ta I
aa nartlf tkr » a Tt at raa aaad ar aaaaT »ara la
aaaraimt Talaftaar yia r «raaXIM far C)ra*a
ilMaaaai taAaf. TW faaraaM araaacta faa. Cafa.
fWT TW graa Ca.
ARTHRITIS
The next sucresMoa oi tecnes shc-ared
Vofdlj arorkinc in his bbomory. ha-
Cers mortnj with the npadity ol a shut-
tle- Camaduei skmed the mosTtnmts
periodicany -to nonmi. but {ouml no in-
dicatioa oI research relaird to aioeac
“This is taking too kxj{.“ irased Car-
michael au>rr>cd33r. “Esen at this
speeded up rale, it arould take areeks aaj
months to explore thoie tareniy )ears.
Ill hate to pa^ iikefr periods. In Sep-
tember oi I’JW). just aJfter the war, the
Padhst Congress cocmuiS'JeeTed his
weapon and destroyed it. His formuLe
were desiroied at about that time. Per-
haps “
He reset the dials to skip >he iater-
.teoing nioaths in Henri Vorday's file.
He set the time foe the bejianirn of
Sepfetnber. 1*^^ bnd ran the scenes ia
normal, iustead of-teserse. setpience.
Diesel
F 7 S T U L A
UNITED STATES DENTAL COMFANY
WHEX tlie tcSescreeri'spean; to tie.
it pictured Henn* Vorday- ha*ii>E end-
less discussanos with iiftportafff-looldn;
men. Tfiry were otScials of the Paci&st
f.iri'rrss. A dav soon maieriahted
wSien Vueday marchnl to tlie ce«er of
thf town and pankipated in ceremonies
oter lit* great weapei
CamicKel stared with awe at the
mrgl-.iy mechanism tliat liad utilized
atomic energy, .\fter the cerct n o oi es.
men armed with sledge-l-amnwrs ai>l
torches legan demoSislung the famous
pav tVorday left soon, retired to his
ruims and look a large, black notebock
out of his sate. He kuked through it
leaf by leaf. An hour later he went to
the Hiing n«n to meet ofiicials and
haisled them the nucrboik. In his pres-
ence. it was burned to ashes — the U*t
record of atomic eixrgy as utilixe<I by
Henri Vorday?
”1 think we Itaie it ?“ said Carmichael
harsely. He retuneil the scene to Voe-
day epening tlie safe and set the tim-
ing of Kxpjcnces (or esen slower than
ix>nml. In slow-motioo deliberalenTss.
Vorday look out the notelook. sat down
at his desk, and began turning its pages.
Carmichaet stopped the action and
sent Tanya tor paper and tyxwwriterx
PICXM
IS7
EYE OF THE PAST
He set a table £aon|; the teksereen azxi
a r ra ng e «i t»o rboirt. He juptJied han-
ieli »jth {ajier apl »e%eral >harjcnetl
^
"We're everything »e
vre in th^ XmaUT be Aid grimly. . "It
repceventi thirtt'jearv of reiearrti by a
laboratory genttiv li reprnettts atomic
jorner? .\nd a »ith «hicb to
fight the alientr*
.\s the »<eT)ev -started again. Taaja
fourx] it hard to Irlieve that »hal they
mere veeir.g »av cucttained in the danc*
ing atcniv under the tuned beam, in a
gUi» of oftfiaary sea-mater! Then she
tent over her typemriter a* the
page of the tmjcefaucic mas revealed.
It mas hard mork. The mritmg in
the h«ii mas i»e almays distinct, nor
easy to decipher. .-Xt times the scene
shifted crarily. \l limes uoly llie hack
of the tuck cocVl be seen. The atom's
eye viemr ^ the ring obeyed no law.
Put mhat they could make out. they re-
corded. Tanya knew Fretsch well
enough to ^uitively gtsevs where she
couldn't dec.iher. .\nd Camrichaers
imtht mar ical 4 rain readily interpreted
the symbols anc formal* his eyes saw
tedy harily.
They ran oser the revoed five limes,
correcting and addmg. tin no nvoee could
le done with that particular path into
the pas*. They had worked without
sleep thirty Iwurs. Tantra had kept cof-
fer warm tw the electric griddle.
"Dmer said Carmichael finally. He
rose, tremblmg.
"Do me have— rwhat me need?" asked
Tanva.
\ "tV> me*" rra(^ Carmichael jubi-
i^lr. "We have enough here to blast
yie aliens into the neat dimensioa f
' "If it isn't too lateP Tanva mar-
nnirriL She srvaiipeil rtt the radio, tuned
for news. But there wasn't any news,
me any <4mmd in the ether. A blanket
of silence lay over Earth. The last
threanis of ci&cial oe n m uni catioa had
been berltm*
Carmicahrl went swiftly to the shoel-
vrave set in tlw coener. sent power into
its lulrs. and tuned for the IL's private
wave-band.
GETAJOB
Ut SCIENTIFIC
CRIME DETECTION
NEURITIS
RtCav*
Mihritf
MinnlM
Detective Agency Wants Men
to serv e as ccerathes aad CCCftS pa^deats is a 3
parts of the cooxiy. Ifsst le over 21 . Scad three
ceae i£a=? fee apphcatico Uasm. etc. This Is bs«
• iilHtfii sefemoL Apply. Pr iar- pal. P. Ol
Box I 7 JL Oborch Street Aaarr. New Ycck. N. Y.
WORK FOR THE
COVERNMENT
START $1260 to $2100 YEAR
m IV toao^ i . Tr mi nT v wC .;
Jft-i tr»*sr ns
Please Bemtice this aaganae when aasweri^ advcrtiseacett
, ^
158
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FIOTION
YOU CAN HAVE LUCK
• Mir ff
raff^umoAti
M »3»?1
> 9
uinriTCD
wmtt f^mLmrntm^ ir*« i
ORIClNAt
POEMS. 50NC5
• C«C«««iA«
CAaAAA
Classified Advertising
Pit rats Secsrtd *
r4TV%T* MatUSL T«*
J. »•
_ft_C.
rAn>*V8
_JI dp Waat c d j "I astrpctiottt
k tiT\ >8MTM- a •
_Conrcspoedcac
rm a*c« «
Old Mooer Wasted
■M^rr worrra
mi M»a ^«««(
mm m* S.m iv m»«
mm. S 1U« >MA.
Frot K«M«k
•• *w •«< •«»
cTSr. »•
"Harrejr Carmichael calling Bartel
Manvoo. Intematkeial Leaguer I*
barked o%er atxl o\«t. till he »a» hcone.
Finally he turned a»ar. faafSed. He ran
to hi» ihehrj, smrpt iupfbe* irao hit
arms and dumped them oa the »ork*
labie. Workinjc frantically, he asserts-
bled a power unit to strenj;Thra his set.
It was oi< a pretty job. nor efiscseiit.
but would last for a whs>. in an hour
he was door.
HE RA.\‘ to his Diesel g cr e iatuf in
the rear, thanked the (ods for its ample
oil supply, arsd started h. Then be was
hack at his set. shostof the rsew supply
of (ower across the ether. - He bertt hts
lip* close to the microphutsr. to otI*et
t^ rumble of the Diesel.
"Carmichael caHirg Bartvl Ma.'twn.
Intcmatioral Ljra{uc!"
.\f iaa a suice came our of tlie ether,
faint and tooeiess. "To Haney Car-
michaeL who is caCin{ Banel Mattson
of the Iittemational Iea{ur. For Heav-
en's sake. man. gi\x up? The Intcma-
tunaJ Ijcafue. its hca^aarters and a.1
its laboratories were d^rojed by the
aliens this momittg! If jou hare any-
thing to say. it's too late note. Eanh
is doonedf"
"Who are sou?" dentaitded Car-
nticharL
"ChW taebo iiperator of tlie IL's ■><<•-
oodary station in the .Alps- My staff
is broodcastir.g orders to all Earth |«x>-
plr. in rsery Language, to abandon all
cities arsd take to nsountainous and wild
country-. It sr^ Bartel Manson's last
order. The alims will «scK be able to
kill off all manldrsd. Perhaps, some-
time in the future, inar.kitsd m^
Itack — tonsehow -*■_
“How much power base sou?^ baS^y
Carmicfcael.
"Two milbiei fiatts. emugh to reach
ail Earth."
"Good ' Xowr K>(m to use arsd Hum
carefully." ranracharTs soice b-somed
consmandiisgly into the microphone.
“Stop your present leoadrasting pro-
gram imnsediateh-. \Vc are going to
strike back. isu< in the dim future. bt«
■ox' I hare the plans for Henri Vor-
PUas*
aUM this aaganae whew aaiwenwg sdrcrtueAcsu
EYE OF THE PAST
d«T\ pat. and iht socnic pourr with
«h>rh to run it. I'm foioc to transnit
thr detailed plans and iornmlajr to jeu
an] >oa1] rcbexodrast them to all Fanh.
W lere-ier there are a (roup of soentists
an! rntpoeers and a laaory, this «capoa
tnu>t be turned oct. Do jou hear me?*
"t i*od Lord. CarmachaeL are j«o
sure “
“Of course. \xn UxAl Doot waste
tinier'
“All rijht. Carmichael ?“ returned the
toite. with a half-skeptical hope in k.
“It can’t do any harm." _ •.
Carmichael pthered al> the type writ -
ten sheets and penciled formal* before
him.. "Here joesr be yeDed. "The
fifth enerjy lesel of the atom is reached
by this (oemula “ ^
On and c« his voice droned, hour
after hour. Tanya broocht him water
and coffee and cneo ot aged him with her
ryes. Carmichael's woice sibrated in the
sensitive tubes of the Alp statioa. and
from thence radiated to every corner of
Earth. Mar.r a dazed mind and dulled
eye. waiting for an inexorable doom,
siupped to clarity, hcarinf hb message.
"Bend your every effort to this."
ras{«s] Cannkhael's ra{ of voice towrard
the end. "Mount these small peoyeciors
cn any and all aircraft available — on
anyihicc that flies I — and soar out to
meet the enemy. You have a weapou
at least as powerful as theirv Many of
you win be destroyed, but others of vqu
UGiy ADOLESCENT
PIMPLES?
Let milBons of tiay, Bvioc piasts
iMlp cJooaso yov blood of poisoot
Seep nifferiwc (he esm ef jrautb - a paapfr •kiw.
Cm at the root af year treublr. eadaaa Head.
B etw w a the a(«9 ef IS aad SS. yew an at a
thae ct btm wtww owpertaat fUada an d en lep
iaf. Your ayateca la aatet. FUiasaa peOwte yaw
bkwd ttnaa aad babbie eat ew year tloa in
oaiy fwpla.. Yw
»TOw D » 0 f 3e
aad pardy
iejanbe aaomi way. I lIV i ai «t aoy. artnw
ywMt itaata wiB Wip kaap fammm tnm tba
aea aaia le kaol year b e at w e at lUa. Maay
h ft iwarwt nsotta la M days ar kw
rt Bwy naa yaw akaa tar Ue. Se aurt awtja^
CHEAP O IL BURNER
ffSki
a; i
•fjtZT
BUILDING UP YOUR
ALKALINE
RESERVE
1«
ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION
will Mxxwd. Tbe rrd Unyts will UU
to the U>t one “ '
frrr re^ tklft'tfffarti over j rity
i3mrm.*rre m Earth am4 hrfon rasing
it to Ihf ^ammd Sttti tkeir ail-eamram-
it^ bramr. Tkry trrtr (orryimy
am 4 'Eo»ar»mi akti had mlreadr triftd
ami thf Urottt eQit. ^amU rtrmta-
ady dntray the tmuUett. Saotillomy
affraeed' earr the l.aritam a fUet ojj,
Earth fT*fr. _The red shift taalt na
jtatiee. ,
SmddemJy a hnahl r^Vt
stabbed fraim amam^ the affraathtag
<Uet. One aj the red shift tagged rm
the middle, hraie imta tsto farts, 'and
erasUd inta 'the freumd TJte other
fame shift tznay Ihetr fmrfJe^a>mt nf-
ttard into the ramnmn^ attahert.
Scaret aj Earth craft feO. Bmt another
rrd thif rramfied. Then another and
another. The remaimimg crimson shift
som^ euafe. dashed far the elands.
Bnt more Forth shift, hie angry kor-
nett, ysoitrd far them there. The last
rrd t^f felt
- “ — ani IvAnh.'vin he free of iu
dnomT"
~0. K-, Camuchael. ‘ O. K.r* came
the voice from the Aljt*. “We hire
mide an eleclro-recoetfinj of voor mev-
sage and «ill broaidca't it contimMudy.
over and over. I hoyw (hiv iv the thiny;
»e need to pvr tirite “
Cannxhael. »itii a ha4y chance at
Tanya, cnafioed otf-the radrv to rut
the vip>ro« 2 » Ian{uice ^that fiilliirr'l
V lUn Tasva »a> Mnilmc-
^ w. • ' • f©
H*«ry aieinonH orwoof MCM»«rily ioort.
ALTHOUGH must oi the heavy metals — p>H. platinum and the hke — are
eatremeJv taen clenucallv. that u o« true c4 Iwavy iiietalv m jenrral. thou*Ii it
i» frequently avvtsued. I'ranhsn. for invtaner. the I•rav 1 e>t nf known. reavrai'Jy
vtahle element', far .frier leinj {•laimumlike in artivity. u vuraciouviy active! Tlie
metal itvelf it ultke. »ihrerj. and extremelT hravT. nearly twice as dense av leal
It i» not a soft mnA. however, as are movt of the heavy elements, but deiinitcly
hard. Howevei -H( 4 s so acive. that. Ide wsltom and calcium metals, k iracis
V porously with cold water. ^
Radnm metal on the lelier land. ahSoetch almsst av “heavy~ in the a:<mic
weight sense iv IiglwT in speo« gravky than iron. But cliemically. k hrlavrs
toward water more rigorouvly even than ralrnan. Tungsten metal, another metal
almovt twice a» deii'e as lead, is of eourw used in incmsdrsceiu lamfsv becau-e of
kv Itigh mebmg yonu Ilci — weight fsic weigiu. toesgsten iv <rrnger llian the far
lighter ahmnnuni Ttingum is. m fact, possessed of the higfje*t tensile strength
ki»wn among eVmmtv» Hit: i|^ too. i» rhenrically. stnetglv anise. It disy4ve>
readily and swttilv tn^ni-. ovi^tes easily, and rantre |■racti^aI]y be rvysswl t s
sea-coast air ^ ■
Platmuni itwlf ry^iar from leirg the imssi rpistant nxtal. chmically v{r-Aiix.
It dissolves rrali'v^aivl rapwlly in fused swdmni caitretate. is attacked l»y sc> 4 y
flames, and hv- tlw 'tanviliar.aifiu regia. .A wvfutrn oi chWine in water attacks
both filaimam arvl giAl reailily. On the leiier liand. iridiuni nietaL a nini leT of
the (^atkiunr goep. is ahulutely tmanenrd hy aitna rrgia. vvdium carUriaie «<
sooty. flame. So resisiant is iridium m fart t’a# nuggfts of k. found as»<uiei
wkh plainnsn m drvosits. almost defy soluirn for chemical atulysis The «»J>
elTecItve solver.t is M«iium peroxide fused at red heat. The fw>xide itself i.
man’s ckswst approach to the universal solvent. Fused, k win dissolve all known
metals, glass, graphne. clay, or {eanically any substance Used a> a cnxiWc!
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